Draco Malfoy: An Era of Evil, a harry potter fanfic

Draco woke as suddenly as if he had been hit by a particularly violent bludger. He sat bolt upright, searching to find the source of disturbance. As his ice cold eyes scanned his room, he spotted the house elf. He watched as the elf tossed a pair of his socks into his Hogwarts trunk. That's when Draco remembered. Today was the day he would return to Hogwarts for his fifth year. He smirked to himself as his thoughts wondered to his new power. A few days earlier, Draco had received his school letter which had informed him that he had indeed been made school prefect. Slightly happier, Draco spat at the elf causing it to squeak in fear.

"I am sorry Mr Malfoy..I - I-I did not realise you were awake" mumbled the elf, his large eyes darting towards the large oak door.

"Get out elf" demanded Malfoy defiantly.

Without hesitation, the elf ran as fast as it could towards the door, stumbling as he went. Draco laughed cruelly at the elf's misfortune. Still yawning, Draco reluctantly rolled out of bed in order to take a shower in preparation for his return to Hogwarts.

Truthfully, Draco was happy to be leaving his mammoth mansion this year. Ever since the return of Lord Voldemort, his father had begun to act strangely, often returning home rarely. Recently, Malfoy became worried, even frightened by his father and had been awaiting his return to Hogwarts impatiently. At Hogwarts, there were so many bonuses that he anticipated every day. Not only would he be reunited with his girlfriend, Pansy, but he would be able to resume his place of power in the Slytherin common room.

As Malfoy approached the Scarlet Steam Train that would take him back to Hogwarts, he caught sight of the girl he had been thinking about most over the summer. True, nothing would ever happen between them, but many nights he laid awake, thinking of her, imagining what he would do to her if he had her alone in his room for a couple of hours. As he stared at her, he felt a burning sensation inside. It was not hate, as it had been many years before, but it was anger. Anger at not being able to touch her, hold her...kiss her.

"You've been made Prefect too!" squealed a voice close to Draco. Tearing his eyes away from the girl who had now hopped on to the train accompanied by two boys, he saw Pansy. Plain, predictable Pansy thought Draco. Her eyes shined with happiness as she saw Draco's badge. She was not ugly, but she was not the prettiest person Draco had ever met. Far from it. She was, as Blaise had pointed out the previous year, "ordinary". Draco was sick of her. She always followed him everywhere and although this had its advantages, he found her almost unbearable.

"Of course, i knew that you'd be made prefect! Isn't this great! Now we can go to that bathroom we found last year, without having to worry about being caught!" she exclaimed happily.

"Yea, you're right. All prefects will be allowed to use that" answered Malfoy, cheered by the thought, plans already forming in his head.

Five minutes later, Draco and Pansy had stored their trunks into the carriage and Malfoy had led Pansy to the prefects carriage. There, they sat together, Pansy looking admirably at Draco.

Malfoy thought he ought to pay her some attention, but he was waiting for the moment when Hermione and Harry would enter the carriage, both wearing shiny red prefect badges.

However, the moment never came. Hermione entered the carriage, closely followed by...

"Weasel Bee??" stated Malfoy. He was completely shocked. He looked to Hermione for some sign of an explanation but she returned his questioning looked with a glare that could kill.

"Well, I have to admit, I am completely shocked. Looks like Potter isn't as valued as he likes to think he is" laughed Malfoy.

"Shut your mouth Malfoy" retorted Hermione, her eyes dangerous. Malfoy enjoyed taunting her, it was his only outlet of emotion.

"Or what Granger? You're going to touch me with your filthy mudblood hands?" asked Malfoy It was only then that Malfoy noticed that Pansy was clinging onto him so tightly that he was losing the feeling in his right hand. Malfoy looked towards his girlfriend and let out a long, low breath. Pansy knew how Malfoy felt about Hermione and this only increased her anger towards the muggleborn.

The rest of the journey was quite uneventful. Silence filled the carriage, with occasional stares of hate shooting between Malfoy and Hermione.

As the train slowed to a halt, Malfoy gathered his things up and made his way towards a horseless carraige which would take him and the rest of the school to the castle. After having hexed three second years, Malfoy and Pansy finally found an empty carriage together, where they were shortly joined by fellow Slytherins, all laughing at a third year Gryffindor who had been transformed into a llama and was now running the full length of the platform, a wizards hat perched on top of his head.

That night Draco slept badly and as a result he woke up in the foulest mood the following morning. Grudgingly, he slowly dressed and made his way down to breakfast in order to eat his usual snacks. As Draco sauntered down to the great hall, he realised how dull the next year looked. True, he was now a prefect which meant he had more power, but what he really wanted this year was so far out of his reach.

When Draco entered the Great hall, he scanned the Slytherin table and without difficulty spotted his friends about halfway down the table. Looking around he saw Hermione sitting with Harry and Ron. She looked beautiful with her loose curls hanging loosely around her shoulders. Draco continued to gaze at her as he approached his friends who were looking suspiciously towards him.

"What are you doing?" questioned Nott.

"He's lusting over the Mudblood obviously" answered Blaise.

"Shut up you lot" said Malfoy sternly, sitting in between Crabbe and Goyle.

"Well its true isn't it? I heard you last night in bed but oh wait. Look who it is?" laughed Blaise.

Malfoy took a moment to register how odd it was that Blaise took such an interest in the matter before he spotted Pansy, striding towards him.

"Why didn't you wait for me?" she asked simply. Draco, thinking of Hermione, meerly shrugged and began to eat an apple hungrily.

He looked towards her and she stared back, a tear running down her cheek. He took a deep breath before standing up. He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him. "I'm sorry" he said lovingly. "I'll make it up to you later. Yea?" he asked. He had done the trick. She smiled widely and blushed a deep red. He pulled her closer to him and pressed his lips against hers which recieved loud whistles from the Slytherin guys. Without another word she turned her back and strutted towards her friends who were sitting at the end of the table.

"Wow, she's really stupid" stated Nott.

"Yea, you can talk can't you" retorted Malfoy sarcastically.

"Ooh, a bit defensive are we Malfoy. I knew you loved her." said Blaise, again Malfoy detected something but was not sure what it was. Was it jealousy? or was he paranoid

"Oh shut up. You know the only reason i stand her is because she's an easy shag. She would do anything for me and believe me, she does." boasted Malfoy. He often boasted to his friends about his relationship with Pansy and this only gained him more respect. Everyone in the year knew that Malfoy was not innocent and having a girlfriend like Pansy only proved that. However, Malfoy always wanted more. Even when he lay awake, with Pansy lying in his arms, he felt empty. The only person he thought of when he was with Pansy was Hermione. She was all he could think about, and Pansy knew it. She tried to make Hermione feel bad about herself but she knew that Hermione was all that Malfoy wanted. It killed her. She was desperately in love with Draco. She felt like the luckiest girl in the world. When Draco kissed her, she felt like life was worth living, even though she knew that he would never feel the same way about her.

It had happened a year ago. Pansy and Draco had been going out with each other for a few months. Draco kept asking and asking, saying that he loved her. She believed him. They were the happiest couple. It seemed the right thing to do. Pansy was willing. She wanted her first time to be special. She loved Draco and thought he loved her to. They were so happy back then. The first time they ever had sex was all Pansy thought about lately. She was living in the past. Back then, she was innocent but now, she felt dirty and would do anything to keep Draco. She could not imagine life without Draco. She thought of Hermione and hated her even more, if that's possible. However, Pansy was in denial. She had talked herself into believing that Draco loved her. It was the only thing that made her happy. If she allowed herself to believe she was being used, then she didn't know what she would do. So their two year relationship was ongoing, but everything seemed to be coming to an end. Draco had drifted further and further away from Pansy. She cried herself to sleep thinking of him. He was not the same person. He had eyes for one person and one person only.

Pansy had planned the whole evening perfectly. She had conjured rose petals which covered the floor of the prefect's bathroom and had filled the massive swimming pool with Draco's favourite bubble bath. She knew he was busy but she hoped that when he saw the effort she had put into the evening, that he would be able to spare her a couple of hours. She was trying to recreate the night they had lost their virginity. It had been a magical night. She had walked into the room to see Draco, a smile on his face. She smiled to herself as she remembered that night. She heard footsteps and hid behind the door. As the door swung open, she saw Malfoy enter the room looking perplexed.

"Surprise" she purred.

"What?" he asked.

"I thought that we could start this year off with a nice soak" she teased.

"I told you that i was busy. Are you a complete idiot??" he sneered.

Pansy looked horrified. She knew he was right. She was stupid. "I-i-i-i'm sorry Draco. I didn't mean to upset you" she whispered, tears streaming down her face.

There was a slight pause in which Draco stared at her, disgusted. She really was stupid. He thought he ought to make her feel better so he plastered a fake smile on his face and pulled her close to him, placing his chin on top of her head. She was still shaking.

"I'm sorry baby. I didn't mean to shout. This is lovely" he whispered. She pulled away, looking questioningly at him, "you mean it? she asked, wiping the tears away from her face.

"Of course i do. I would never lie to you. I love you Pansy" he stated strongly. He pulled her closer to him and stood there holding her in a tight embrace. Even though he was deeply in love with Hermione, he felt something for Pansy, as she stood, her tiny body pulled close towards him. He had always seen Pansy as a slut and he thought that she would always be a way that he could have a quick shag without feeling anything for her. However, that night, he saw Pansy as he had never seen her before. She was completely committed to him and he had treated her so badly that he now felt totally guilt ridden. He decided, as he held her close, that he would never make her cry again. He was starting to feel the way he felt towards Hermione. That night, Draco treated her with the respect that she deserved and that she had been denied for the past year of their relationship. Malfoy was beginning to scare himself now. Not only was he in love with a mudblood, the enemy of Slytherin but he was also starting to have feelings for his whore of a girlfriend, but of course, she wasn't really a whore. Pansy had always been committed to Draco even when he cheated on her. She would always forgive him because she loved him so. The commitment he vowed to keep that night scared him. He, the most powerful Slytherin in the school was becoming controlled by his heart.

The next few weeks passed without much interest. Pansy and Draco became closer to each other. It was as if they were in the first flushes of love. They walked down the corridor hand in hand and Pansy was showered with gifts ranging from chocolate to underwear. They spent all their time together and things seemed to be going great.

A few weeks later, Malfoy was unconcernably levitating his parrot which he was supposed to be bewitching to make it flash different colours when he heard the distinct voice of Hermione Granger who was sat at the back of the class with Weasley and Potter. Malfoy turned in his chair and saw that she was crying over her parrot that was flashing red and green.

"Hermione, it's ok. We'll find him. Don't worry" said Potter softly. It took all of Malfoy's self control not to smack Potter. He was so useless. He was a complete dunce when it came to girls. She needed a real man to make her feel better. As he continued to listen, it became apparent what was wrong with Hermione. It seemed that her cat, the bushy haired ginger one, was missing. It killed Malfoy to see the tears streaming down her face. He wanted to find that cat. He never wanted her to suffer. He vowed that he would find the cat whatever it took. He looked towards her again, dry tears plastered her face. Her eyes were red and puffy but to Malfoy, she was the prettiest girl in the room.

That night, Malfoy spent hours, wondering the castle searching for any sight of a cat. He was allergic of course, but he would do anything for her, so he continued. It was at about 5am when Malfoy stumbled into the Charms room and her a low purring sound coming from one of the cupboards. Excitement running through his veins, he opened the cupboard to reveal a rather large, ginger cat, staring up at him with big, round eyes.

"How did you get in there?" he wondered aloud.

"HaHa" came a voice from the door. "It looks like its been hit in the face with a pan, doesn't it" cackled Peeves the poltergeist as he appeared from the nearby wall.

"PEEVES!" ranted Malfoy. "You locked Granger's cat in here?" he asked strongly.

"Oooooh, why are you so bothered Malfoy. She's a mudblood!" he laughed

"DON'T call her that" shouted Malfoy.

"Why not? You do? I think someone's in loooove!! Malfoy and Granger sitting in a tree. AAAAAAARRRGGHH" shouted Peeves as Malfoy lobbed a particularly heavy book at him. Before Filch, the caretaker, had time to run to the room, Malfoy had scooped the cat into his arms and ran to the Gryffindor common room which was situated behind a painting of a fat lady.

"Password" she asked in a monotonous tone.

Without saying a word, Malfoy conjured a box and placed the cat inside and took off at high speed towards the Slytherin common room, leaving a perplexed painting to wonder about the box that now laid at the foot of her portrait.

"Hermione?" asked Ron slowly.

"What Ronald?" she asked in an exasperated tone.

"It's Crookshanks. He's here. He's out here." He said incredulously.

"You're joking!" she replied hastily, scrambling out of her armchair. "But…Who?" she wondered aloud as she scooped Crookshanks into her arms where he purred loudly.

"I don't know. Hang on. I'll ask" said Ron as he climbed out of the hole. "Excuse me. Excuse me. Fat Lady? Who left this box here?" asked Ron politely.

"I don't know. It was dark. He was certainly rude though, he didn't even speak to me. Well excuse me, I'm late for a dinner date" she said slightly impatiently. With that, she was gone.

Hermione frowned, thinking deeply. "Who? Who would leave Crookshanks outside? Unless it wasn't a Gryffindor." She pondered. Ron, however, was calling to Harry. "Come on. Let's go. I'm starving!" he called. Hermione merely shrugged and followed Ron and Harry as they climbed out of the portrait hall and began to make their way down to breakfast.

"Where were you last night Draco" Pans asked casually but Draco saw that she was shaking.

"I had some stuff to sort out" he replied, feeling himself slipping into his old ways. She had no business questioning him like this. It was none of her business where he had been but he kept his feelings to himself. He still loved her after all. She may not have been the smartest girl in the world but there was no denying her body. She had perfect curves. She took his breath away sometimes. It was only when they were alone and she was begging Draco that he truly appreciated her. He smiled to himself.

"Come with me" he whispered in her ear. Together, they hurried towards the Slytherin common room. He pulled her into his dorm room and closed the door. Without a word, he pinned her against the wall, feeling her breath on his skin only made him more excited. Today she was wearing a short skirt which showed off her long, slender legs. He started to kiss her slowly until he felt her tongue brush against his lips. He opened his mouth and pushed his tongue into her mouth where it entwined with her. They were both getting more and more excited. Pansy could feel what she was doing to Malfoy and it made her feel so happy. He was so hard against her thigh. She pulled her top off and saw Malfoy smile. He pulled his shirt off and picked her up into his arms and pushed her against the wall. They were kissing harder and faster now. He pulled her away from the wall and pushed her onto the bed. He was so close to her now. He worked his way down her body kissing her until she was screaming for Draco to take her hard and fast. Just as things became intense Malfoy heard someone's footsteps outside the door. He quickly pulled his trousers on, leaving Pansy completely naked on the bed when Blaise opened the door casually, looked towards Pansy and then towards Draco. Without a word, he closed the door and left them alone.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no" muttered Pansy.

"Don't worry Pansy" grinned Malfoy. "He won't care. Believe me" he reassured her.

"Yea" she mumbled distractedly. Malfoy wondered why she thought it to be a big deal but decided that she was embarrassed at having Blaise see her naked. After having said a rushed goodbye, she left hurriedly claiming to have an essay to finish. Malfoy wondered what was wrong, but decided to head down to breakfast before double potions.

As he walked down to breakfast he thought of Pansy and realised that he loved her. He smiled to himself as he thought of her so that when he entered the great hall, he felt nothing towards Hermione who was sat as usual, reading a book about ancient runes and their meanings. He made his way down the Slytherin table, to where Blaise, Crabbe, Nott and Goyle sat talking unconcernedly. Blaise looked different to Malfoy, even upset? Malfoy thought that it was a big dramatic to be upset because he had seen a hot girl naked. Malfoy squeezed in between Nott and Goyle so that he was sat opposite Blaise.

"Listen, I'm sorry Blaise. You know, it was a thing of the moment" explained Malfoy quietly.

"What's this Malfoy?" asked Nott interestedly.

"Blaise. Walked in on me when I was entertaining Pansy" joked Malfoy. Suddenly, Blaise was on his feet. He looked furious, but before Malfoy could ask, he had stormed off towards the door, succeeding in knocking a first year Gryffindor from the bench where he sat innocently eating some porridge.

"What the fuck?" asked Malfoy concerned. He quickly got to his feet and sprinted the length of the Great Hall, reaching Blaise at the top of the stairs. "What the fuck was all that about??" asked Malfoy, completely confused.

"You really have no idea, do you?" said Blaise, his eyes had a manic gleam in them. "You don't treat her with half the respect she deserves! You just treat her like a whore! She's not a whore. I treat her with much way more respect than you do." He shouted, people were beginning to stare at them now. Malfoy, had turned paler than usual if that's possible.

"What?" he asked, disbelievingly.

"That's right! I've been fucking your bitch behind your back" he screamed.

"No. It's not true. She would never, I love her" Malfoy said, forgetting that everyone was watching.

"You? Love her? Don't make me laugh." Blaise was laughing now. Malfoy, however, felt as if his heart had been ripped into pieces. He couldn't believe it. This is why he had never let anyone into his heart before. He was losing his control. Without stopping to think about it, he sprinted towards the Slytherin common room, where he sat on his bed. As he thought about Pansy and the thought of her having sex with Blaise, he felt betrayed. He was in total shock and as he sat there, he began to cry. He couldn't believe it. He, the most powerful Slytherin, was turning into a different person. He didn't like it at all. He stopped crying and sat up straight. It was time to put his plan into action. He would get his own back at Pansy and Blaise. As he sat there, all he thought of was the one thing that he would always put above everything, Hermione.

The following morning Draco awoke, dry tears plastered to his pale face. It took him a few moments to remember why he felt like shit, but all too soon, recollections of the previous night began to crop into his thoughts. The betrayal he felt was unbearable. He hadn't seen Pansy yet and frankly he didn't want to. He was upset, and he was scared of what he might do. He wanted to stay upstairs, hiding from the world, but first lesson was Transfiguration and there was no way that Professor McGonagall would be very forgiving. So, anger pulsing through his veins, he began to dress slowly, tears still rolling down his face.

As he made his way into the Great Hall, he felt hundreds of pairs of eyes staring at him. Many whispers broke out and Malfoy was sure that everyone had heard about Pansy's betrayal. He flicked his eyes over to the Gryffindor table out of habit and caught Hermione's eye. She leaned closer to Harry and whispered something. For a split second Malfoy thought that he detected a look of pity in her eyes or was he just paranoid? At that moment, he couldn't care less. As he walked over to his friends, the thought occurred to him that they had known about Blaise and Pansy. He slowed his pace and turned around; he didn't want to hear their excuses. He grabbed a piece of warm toast and headed out of the Great Hall determined that Pansy would not bother him.

As he headed out of the castle, he saw Pansy running towards him, tears running down her face. "Draco, Draco. I've been looking for you everywhere. Listen, it's not true." She gasped.

"I don't want your excuses" said Malfoy tiredly. "Get out of my way please" he continued.

"Draco you have to forgive me. Please. I'll do anything." She cried.

"No thank you. Now, please get out of my way. I'm going to be late." He replied. A tear rolled down his cheek as he looked into the eyes of the girl that he had let into his heart only a few weeks ago.

"Draco, please. Draco. I love you!" she shouted as he pushed past her.

Turning back to face her, Draco's face was full of fury and disappointment. "YOU LOVE ME? YOU DON'T KNOW THE MEANING OF THE WORD!" he screamed, tears running freely down his face. "I TRUSTED YOU. I LOVED YOU AND THEN YOU GO AND DO THIS." He continued as she cowered against the wall. People were beginning to stare as they exited the great hall, making their way to their lessons. Malfoy didn't care. Let them stare he thought. Let them see what sort of a whore I have had to put up with for the past two years.

"YOU DON'T LOVE ME! LIAR! WE ALL KNOW WHO YOU LOVE! HOW COULD YOU? THE FILTHY MUDBLOOD." Pansy screamed back in fury.

"DON'T YOU DARE CALL HER THAT. SHE'S WORTH TEN OF YOU AND YOU KNOW IT." He screamed. It took all his self control not to hit her, but he had seen his father hit his mother and seen the pain that it caused. Instead he turned on his heel and ran towards the Slytherin common room.

"GRANGER'S NOTHING COMPARED TO ME DRACO. YOU'LL SEE" she shrieked.

At that moment, Malfoy caught sight of Hermione, standing at the foot of the stairs. As she heard her name, she looked confused but at the same time, Malfoy thought, she looked beautiful as always.

Hermione looked from Pansy to Malfoy, who was running the length of the Entrance Hall towards the door which lead to the dungeon. She was in complete shock. Surely this was some sort of sick joke that the two of them had thought up. After all, Malfoy hated her and she despised him as well. As she stood there, she noticed that everyone was staring at her. She grabbed hold of Harry and Ron and pulled them up the staircase, away from the curious looks and the suspicious whispering that was now filling the Entrance Hall. As the three of them climbed the many staircases, the sounds of the students below died out.

"Hermione, what the hell was all that about?" asked Ron. Clearly, they were as shocked by the news as she was.

"I haven't got a clue," she replied. "It's got to be some sort of sick joke" she thought out loud, shaking her head.

"I'm not sure Hermione" said Harry interrupting her train of thought. "I've never seen Malfoy like that before. I think he was crying" said Harry. All three stood there wondering what Malfoy was trying to pull. Finally, Hermione broke the silence.

"Well, it's time for Potions. Let's go. I can't deal with this right now. Who care's anyway? Come on or we'll be late" she said, gathering her bag and checking the time. The three of them descended the stairs to the dungeon in silence. As they approached the dungeon they heard whispers from their classmates but as they caught sight of Hermione, the whispers gradually faded out but they were still staring at her.

"Ignore them Hermione" whispered Harry.

Hermione however was staring at Malfoy, who was standing at the back of the group. He wasn't looking at Hermione but was instead in hushed conversation with his two best friends, Crabbe and Goyle. As Hermione turned to talk to Harry and Ron, the dungeon door creaked open and everyone fell silent.

"Enter" came the icy voice of Snape, the Potions master. The students scurried into the dungeon. Harry, Ron and Hermione sat in their usual seats at the back of the dungeon. They all wondered where Malfoy would sit. Usually, he sat with Pansy but after this morning, Hermione doubted they would sit together. As Harry and Ron retrieved their books from their bags, Hermione watched Malfoy intently catching his eye for just a second. He didn't smile; in fact he didn't show any signs of recognition.

"Hermione can i borrow a quill?" asked Ron, bringing her to her senses. She turned away from Malfoy who was now sitting next to Crabbe and handed Ron a quill.

It was the weirdest lesson that Hermione had ever had. She tried to concentrate on the potion she was supposed to be making but every so often her mind would wonder to the events of the morning. Snape was different today as well. He would usually treat Malfoy as a son but today he was receiving the same treatment that Snape usually reserved for Harry. Clearly Snape had heard about what had happened that morning. However, Snape had taken a different approach to Hermione and was ignoring her completely. Usually, she would receive at least one comment about how bigheaded she was but today, Snape was acting as if she didn't exist.

However, this suited Hermione perfectly. Every so often, her fellow students would turn around just to stare at her. She was happy that Snape wasn't attracting any more attention to her.

After what felt like hours, the bell rang signalling the end of the lesson and as quickly as possible, Hermione gathered her things up and hurried out of the dungeon, making her way to the Gryffindor tower, Harry and Ron running to catch up with her.

"HERMIONE" shouted Ron from the bottom of one of the many staircases they had travelled up.

Hermione turned to face Ron, clutching her books tight to her body. "Ron, hurry up. People keep staring at me. Can we please just talk about this later" she said hurriedly, students whispering as they passed her. She began to climb yet another staircase as Ron and Harry ran to catch up.

As Hermione entered the Gryffindor common room, she gave a huge sigh. She was still attracting stares but she could handle the curious looks that the second years were giving her.

Five minutes later, Ron and Harry had reached the Gryffindor tower, breathing heavily.

"My God Hermione." Said Ron. "How fast can you run" he gasped.

Harry, who had recovered faster than Ron, was moving towards Hermione. "Hermione?" he said carefully. "Are you ok?" he asked tentively.

"Yes" answered Hermione cheerfully. Harry gave her a suspicious look but she replied with another smile. "I'm ok Harry. It really doesn't matter. I'd prefer it if we just forgot this ever happened. Malfoy is evil. He just wants a reaction from me, but he won't get one" she answered confidently. However, Hermione already had a plan. She was going to talk to Malfoy. She had to know what he was trying to do. Harry and Ron, however, had no idea about what she was about to do…Hermione looked from Pansy to Malfoy, who was running the length of the Entrance Hall towards the door which lead to the dungeon. She was in complete shock. Surely this was some sort of sick joke that the two of them had thought up. After all, Malfoy hated her and she despised him as well. As she stood there, she noticed that everyone was staring at her. She grabbed a hold of Harry and Ron and pulled them up the staircase, away from the curious looks and the suspicious whispering that was now filling the Entrance Hall. As the three of them climbed the many staircases, the sounds of the students below died out.

"Hermione, what the hell was all that about?" asked Ron. Clearly, they were as shocked by the news as she was.

"I haven't got a clue," she replied. "It's got to be some sort of sick joke" she thought out loud, shaking her head.

"Ignore them Hermione" whispered Harry.

"Hermione can i borrow a quill?" asked Ron, bringing her to her senses. She turned away from Malfoy who was now sitting next to Crabbe and handed Ron a quill.

However, this suited Hermione perfectly. Every so often, her fellow students would turn around just to stare at her. She was happy that Snape wasn't attracting any more attention to her.

"HERMIONE" shouted Ron from the bottom of one of the many staircases they had travelled up.

As Hermione entered the Gryffindor common room, she gave a huge sigh. She was still attracting stares but she could handle the curious looks that the second years were giving her.

Five minutes later, Ron and Harry had reached the Gryffindor tower, breathing heavily.

"My God Hermione." Said Ron. "How fast can you run" he gasped.

Harry, who had recovered faster than Ron, was moving towards Hermione. "Hermione?" he said carefully. "Are you ok?" he asked tentively.

The following few days passed without much significance. Malfoy was still receiving suspicious looks from his fellow students. Snape, the only teacher he had ever respected, was treating him like dirt and Hermione was acting like nothing had happened. Malfoy was still furious with Pansy. How dare she tell everyone about my feelings for Hermione, thought Malfoy as he sat beside the fire in the Slytherin common room.

"Malfoy?" grunted the voice of one of Malfoy's cronies, Crabbe.

"What?" snapped Malfoy, coming back to reality.

"It's your go," said Crabbe.

"Oh, I can't be arsed" said Malfoy irritably, getting to his feet. "I'm going for a walk" he called over his shoulder as he made his way over to the portrait hole.

The past few days were a blur to Malfoy. He had been put in detention for punching Blaise in the face. Malfoy didn't care. As far as he was concerned, Pansy was a slut and if Blaise didn't realise that, he would have to pay the price when she finally cheated on him.

Slightly happier, Malfoy made his way out of the castle, and continued to walk until he reached the lake, where he sat, thinking of the events of the previous few days. Malfoy had wondered if he should confess his feelings of Hermione to Crabbe and Goyle but decided against it. After all, he would be made a laughing stock if anyone believed that he, the most powerful Slytherin in the school, was in love with a Gryffindor mudblood. So for the past few days, Malfoy had denied the accusations that had been made and merely commented that Pansy was trying to find another explanation for why Malfoy was dumping her, other than the fact that she was pug ugly.

Malfoy stared out at the lake, the cool breeze tickling his face. His thoughts strayed to Pansy. He still loved her but hate raced through his veins every time he remembered her betrayal. A reluctant tear rolled down his cheek causing Malfoy to laugh out loud at his own stupidity.

"Something funny Malfoy?" shouted the voice of a girl. It was hard to distinguish who the voice belonged to. Malfoy whipped his head around to see Hermione standing there, the strong wind blowing her hair into her face. Malfoy realised that she was pointing her wand right at him.

"Granger" drawled Malfoy, wiping the tears from his face. "What do you want?" he sniped, regaining his attitude.

"I want to know what that whole scene was about the other day" she replied, still gripping her wand tight in her sweaty hand.

"I don't know what you're talking about" sneered Malfoy, getting to his feet.

"You know perfectly well what I mean Malfoy. Did you think it was funny? I'm sure you and Pansy had a great time laughing about me after, didn't you?" she shouted quickly.

Malfoy couldn't believe it. She thought that he was playing a joke on her when Pansy purposefully revealed his darkest secrets. He couldn't take it. He strode past her towards the castle, leaving her confused. She screamed at him through the increasing wind. "MALFOY...MALFOY GET BACK HERE NOW!" She stood there, her wand by her side and watched as Malfoy slowed his pace and turned around to face her.

"YOU THINK SHE WAS LYING? YOU THINK THAT I WANTED HER TO SHOUT THAT SO THAT EVERYONE HEARD? YOU HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE HERMIONE!" he screamed back. He slowly realised what he had done and now red in the face, he took one last glance at the stunned look on Hermione's face, before whipping around and running back towards the castle cursing as he went.

Malfoy ran down corridor after corridor, looking for an empty room. He finally found that the transfiguration room was empty and quickly rushed in, closing it tightly behind him. He slid down the wall and began to cry. It had been nearly five months since that night and Malfoy had promised that nothing like that would ever happen again. He despised his father. He didn't want to grow up to be his father but he lost it. Pansy wouldn't help him. It was her fault. If she'd just helped him, then he wouldn't of had to scare her like that, he reasoned with himself. However. as hard as he tried to blame Pansy for what had just happened, he couldn't. He shouldn't have let it happen. He sat there, clutching his knees, tears rolling down his face. He didn't notice the door open, or the girl who walked in until she closed the door loudly behind her. Startled, Malfoy looked up to see Hermione, walking towards him, replacing what looked like an old piece of parchment in her pocket.

"What do you want Granger" sneered Malfoy, still clutching his knees. Hermione looked down at him. He looked so weak sat there, his white blonde hair plastered to his rosy cheeks. Tears were still rolling down his cheeks as he rocked back and forth.

"I" she started. "I wanted to apologise" she finished, taking a seat next to Malfoy.

"What for?" he asked bluntly.

"For earlier. I just thought that you hated me. I mean, I'm not pureblood" she stated in a confused voice.

"I know. I don't know Hermione. I don't know why but I don't hate you." he said in a slightly hushed tone.

"Oh my God" she exclaimed, smiling slightly.

"What?" asked Malfoy seriously?

"You just called me Hermione" she said, striking Malfoy with realisation. He started to laugh. "Never do that again" she said, slightly amused.

"I'm sorry" he said, still laughing.

"It's ok" she replied. They sat there for a while, laughing to themselves. Malfoy looked at Hermione, who was still laughing. He had never been this close to her. He could count her freckles if he wanted. She looked beautiful. She caught him looking at her and turned to face him, staring into his eyes. Usually, they were cold but Hermione sensed warmth from deep within them. She leaned towards him but he pulled away. She saw the look of fear that pulsated from his eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked pulling away from him, looking hurt.

"I'm sorry," he said getting to his feet, fear still etched in every line of his face. "I have to go" he said, backing away from her towards the door. He grabbed hold of the handle, desperate to leave. However, he found that it was locked. He turned to face Hermione, who looked upset. She got to her feet and took out her wand. "Alohomora" she whispered.

He saw the hurt look in her eyes before he disappeared, feeling worse than he had done for five months.

"You will be taking you O.W.L.S very soon" snapped Professor McGonnagal, looking around the room sharply.

"Bloody hell" whispered Ron, leaning into talk to Harry and Hermione, "we've got ages until we have to even think about our O.W.L.S" Ron started, but Professor McGonagal, who was close by, had heard his remark.

"Mr Weasley, i hope you appreciate how important these exams are to your education" Professor McGonagal asked strongly.

"Yes, but-"

"Well then i shall hope that you will show how important you think they are in your next piece of homework" she said, moving to the front of the class. "I would like the whole class to write a 5 foot essay on the importance of wand movement when changing mice into cats" she dictated, "with particular emphasis on the problems that could occur should you not move your wand in the precise movement i have shown you, for example the half that was a cat could end up eating the part of it that is still a mouse" she finished, putting her papers away. Everyone broke out in conversations of outrage as she left the room leaving the class to put away the mice that they had been attempting to transform. Nobody, not even Hermione, had successfully turned there mouse into a cat, but Hermione didn't care. All lesson, she had been thinking of her earlier conversation with Malfoy. He had called her Hermione... She was sure now that none of what he was saying was a lie. He had seemed so sincere she thought as she slowly packed away her things only half listening to Ron's rant about the essay that they had just been set.

"Hermione, are you ok?" asked Harry, cutting across Ron's continuing outrage.

Hermione, who had not been listening to Harry, looked towards him and plastered a fake smile upon her face. "Of course i am, why wouldn't i be?" she asked.

"Well you haven't been yourself lately...We -I just wondered if it was because of what Malfoy said" Harry said curiously, while Ron gave him a stern look.

"Why would i be bothered about Malfoy at all?" Hermione asked, getting slightly angry. She did not have a clue why she was suddenly getting angry at Harry, afterall he was just concerned for her. "I'd rather not talk about it to be honest Harry" she said wearily, pushing all thoughts of Malfoy to the back of her head. "Anyone hungry?" she asked happily, leading them to the great hall for lunch.

The next few days passed without so much as a word of Malfoy and Hermione, but Hermione still received evil glares across the Great Hall from envious Slytherin girls. Hermione, however, had taken the approach of denial. She had successfully transformed her mouse to a cat before anybody else and she was not acting any different than she did before Pansy's outburst in the Great Hall.

However, on sunday evening, after Hermione had bid Ron and Harry goodnight, Harry looked towards Ron. "Ron, what's wrong with Hermione? I think that Malfoy remark really got to her" said Harry in a hushed voice so that the Creevy brothers, who were sat at the neighbouring table, would not hear.

"What?" asked Ron, attempting to make a piece of paper drift over to the bin.

"Ron" said Harry forcefully, making Ron drop his piece of paper. Ron looked towards him, startled. "Hermione?"

"Harry, i'm sure she's fine. I doubt that she even cares what Malfoy thinks. I mean, why would she. For the past four years, he's been calling her a mudblood right, left and centre. Why would she care if he's decided to pretend to be in love with her?" Ron said, turning back to the piece of paper he had dropped. "Wingardium Leviosar" he said absentmindedly.

"Well that's just it, i don't think he's pretending. I heard him the other day in the toilets, crying his eyes out by the sound of it." said Harry concernedly.

"What?!" laughed Ron. "Are you serious?" said Ron positively howling with laughter now.

"No, I'm not" replied Harry a grim look on his face. "I'm just worried. What's he upto?" enquired Harry, mainly to himself as Ron was beside himself now.

"That is priceless" cried Ron, "Well that's made my day, thanks Harry" said Ron, still grinning widely.

Malfoy was lying on his bed fully clothed, staring at the ceiling. He still had a herbology essay to complete and a potions recipe to look up, Fuck it, he thought, still staring into space wondering what people would think of him if they knew what had happened to him. He was losing control. He thought of one thing, and one thing only, but he knew that it was unacceptable. After all, he was a Slytherin, he was a pureblood…he could not allow this to continue. If he did, he would end up being looked down on by everyone he knew. I won't let that happen thought Malfoy as he wiped the tears away from his face. And so, over the next few days, things got back to how they were supposed to be. He was still ignoring Pansy and Blaise, giving them evil glares everytime he saw them. However, apart from that, not a lot had changed. He was once again looked up at by the entire Slytherin house after he hexed a particularly scary looking seventh year Gryffindor who had went into Malfoy as he was walking down the corridor. He had received detention from McGonnagal but it had been worth it. All the first year Slytherins looked up at Malfoy in awe and even people older than him were congratulating him, naming the Gryffindor as a 'bigheaded twat'. And so life was back to normal as far as possible for Malfoy, he knew he could never act on his heart. It was his head that was important now. He would never allow himself to become slave to his heart. Never. For no-one.

Winter was fast approaching, and with it, it brought an upsurge of excitement among the first years who had never experienced the delightful Christmas decorations which had been put up the previous day.

However, for the fifth years, the winter holidays brought an unwanted abundance of homework which took up a great deal of everyone's time meaning there was hardly time to worry about anything else.

"Please, just come Hermione, it'll only be for a few hours" Harry pleaded as Hermione brushed her hair out of her face and continued to read a particularly large book she'd found in the library.

"Harry" said Hermione, "we have too much homework, we can't afford to just go gallivanting off to Hogsmeade every weekend" she finished, not looking up from her book.

"Hermione, we have the entire holidays to work, we won't get to go to Hogsmeade again for ages, please come with us, I don't want to leave you here on your own" said Harry, a note of concern in his voice.

"Oh fine" snapped Hermione, closing the large book, "I won't get any work done anyway with the amount of noise in here" she said, giving a look of disgust to a group of extremely shrill first year girls.

Ron, who had stayed behind in the Great Hall for an extra slice of toast, met them in the Entrance Hall, just as they descended the stairs. After passing Filch, who was looking suspiciously at Harry as always, they walked towards the gate, ice cold air whipping their faces. As they quickened their pace, they spotted Hagrid emerging from his hut but Harry's voice was lost in the air and so they continued to walk, nearly jogging now. Ten minutes later, the three were shivering, trying to decide where to go first.

"Let's go to The Three Broomsticks" said Ron insistently, who was now shaking quite violently. Three butterbeers later, and considerably more cheerful, Harry proposed that they go to Honeydukes in order to get a Christmas present for Hagrid as they hadn't seen much of him recently. Hermione however, still worrying about the amount of work she had piling up, insisted that she had to work and she turned leaving a worried Harry being dragged into Honeydukes by Ron who had just sported a new brand of sugar quills (now super size).

Hermione, arms crossed, pulled her cloak close to her, bowed her head and quickened her pace, trying to block out as much of the wind as she could. Five minutes later and she could see the castle; she began to jog a bit faster but was caught swiftly round the arm. In shock, she turned to see Malfoy staring straight into her eyes, his hair in disarray.

"What do you want Malfoy?" asked Hermione, pulling her arm away from him and continuing to walk back towards to the castle. Malfoy, seeing she was cold, took his own cloak off and placed it around her shoulders but she shook it off, and began to walk faster away from him as he picked up his cloak from the cold wet ground staring after her.

"Hey!" Malfoy shouted after her, now running up the stone steps into the entrance hall. He scanned the hall and saw her immediately, her hair bobbing up and down as she climbed the stairs, towards the Gryffindor common room. "Move" he demanded of a group of scandalous looking second years, as he hurried after her, not seeing Pansy at the bottom of the stairs, looking between Malfoy and Hermione, enraged by the whole situation.

"HERMIONE!" shouted Malfoy from one end of a deserted corridor, as Hermione neared the Gryffindor common room. Finally, Malfoy caught up with Hermione, pulling her into the nearby charms room.

"Leave me alone Malfoy" said Hermione, a hurt look in her eyes, trying to pull away from Malfoy's strong grip.

"Please talk to me Hermione" pleaded Malfoy. For the past few weeks he had been ignoring Hermione, hiding his feelings, he had become everyone's idol again but every night he knew that all he really wanted was to just talk to Hermione, that was all. He needed her, she knew how he felt and she hadn't pushed him away before, she had actually come to find him, she locked them both in a classroom so no one would disturb us. Malfoy thought he was deluded to think that anything would actually happen between the two but the fact that she'd cared enough to come and find him when nobody else cared just made him want to talk to her more. However, she now looked hurt, Malfoy wasn't surprised, he had basically run away from her, leaving her on her own, something he wish he hadn't done.

"I'm sorry" he whispered, looking into her deep hazel eyes, but she didn't relax, she didn't even respond to his apology, but instead she continued to glare at him, hurt firmly set in her eyes.

"Wow, isn't this cosy" came a voice from the door. It was Pansy, who had propped herself up against the open door, arms folded. "You two make such a cute couple" she exclaimed plastering a fake smile on her face, rolling her eyes.

"Go away please Pansy" said Malfoy calmly, not taking his eyes off Hermione, still holding her arm, preventing her from running away again, he wouldn't let her slip away.

"I wonder what your Mother will say Draco, Christmas soon, she'll find it strange I'm not coming won't she." Pansy now walked towards the two, now focussing her attention on Hermione. "Christmas at the Malfoy is great, I'm sure you'll have a great time, talking about the pureblood family, the great you know who, and how filthy mudbloods like you are." Malfoy gave Pansy a glare that could kill but still didn't remove his hand from Hermione's arm.

"Oh but you'll love the nights Hermione, staying in Malfoy's mansion, his bed really is comfy, isn't it Malfoy...Remember when we –" Draco had now let go of Hermione and had focussed his whole attention on Pansy. "SHUT THE FUCK UP PANSY" he screamed, restraining himself from hitting her, but before Pansy could reply, Malfoy heard a door slam and turned to find that Hermione was gone.

Running as fast as his legs would carry him, Malfoy continued to run down corridor after corridor in search of Hermione. After ten minutes or so he resigned himself to the fact that she had probably already made it to the Gryffindor common room by now. He was so angry with himself, so angry for allowing her to slip away before he had a chance to explain his actions, to tell her how he was really feelings and most of all, to apologise for everything. The Christmas holidays were approaching fast and he had to talk to Hermione before they left. Malfoy considered this to be urgent, she needed to understand his thoughts and so he spent the next few days trying to corner Hermione after lessons but she seemed to disappear with Potter and Weasley before he had the chance.

The first day of the Christmas holidays was upon them and packing his bag quickly, Malfoy looked over to Blaise, who was absent mindedly flicking his wand, and gave him a look of absolute hatred. For the past four years, the two boys had got on well together, Malfoy saw him as the only one of his friends who had more than one brain cell, but now, Malfoy saw him for what he really was and anger pulsed through him at every mention of his name.

Slamming his trunk shut, Malfoy dragged his possessions to the end of his bed and then strolled out of the dormitory, sparing another look of hate for Blaise. Malfoy had been working on his plan to talk to Hermione on the train back to London for a fair while now. At first he had been angry that she was not giving him the time of day, and he felt stupid and foolish for pursuing the matter, but every time he saw Hermione he was overwhelmed with a warm feeling that he had never really experienced before and so he decided that the best way that he could talk to Hermione without her escaping him again, would be on the train home.

After breakfast, Malfoy made his way towards the Great Hall and joined the line of students waiting for the carriages which would take them to the station. As he travelled in the carriage accompanied by a few other Slytherins, who were staring at him in awe, he suddenly became very nervous and became very fidgety. Within minutes, the train was packed with excitable children, anticipating the Christmas Holidays but Malfoy, who was in a deep state of concentration, moved down the train looking for the carriage where Hermione, Potter and Weasley would be sitting. However, as he reached the last carriage he was surprised to see Hermione sitting alone, looking slightly pale, wringing a scarf in her hands and looking impatient. Malfoy knocked and entered without waiting for a response and sat directly opposite Hermione, who looked fearful.

"Are you ok?" he asked her gently and she returned his question with a nod but Malfoy did not believe her.

"What's happened?" he asked her, leaning towards her slightly.

"Oh nothing, don't worry about it" she said unconvincingly. Malfoy place his hand upon her knee, making her flinch. He withdrew it immediately.

"Sorry" he mumbled, looking out of the window instead.

A few minutes of silence passed between the two before Malfoy spoke again. "Where are Potter and Weasley?" he asked. She cast another fearful glance towards Malfoy.

"They were sent home yesterday" she said, not offering an explanation as to why and how they had been allowed to do this. Malfoy waited for her to speak again but she did not and so he turned once again to look out of the window. The train had just begun to move.

"Ron's dad," she croaked, "he was attacked" she glanced at Malfoy, looking for a reaction. As he turned back to her she hastily adjusted her gaze but it was too late, Malfoy knew that she was waiting to see if he had known anything about this.

"You think I know something don't you" he asked, slightly angry but upset at the same time.

"No" she replied quietly, "I just know that your fathers a death eater, so maybe he would know" she explained, staring at the ground.

A sudden hatred towards his father erupted in Malfoy's chest. The truth was that he was not looking forward to returning home for Christmas and it was only his mothers persuasion that had led him to end up on the train. Malfoy remembered how horrible the previous summer holidays had been and how he had longed to return to Hogwarts. Suddenly, tears were dripping down his face and although he tried to hide this, Hermione had noticed and had put her hand on his knee. Warmth spread throughout Malfoys entire body, causing him to look deep into Hermiones deep brown eyes.

"I'm sorry" she said, and she meant it. "I didn't mean to upset you" she said.

"It's ok" he croaked, "I just hate what my fathers becoming now. He treats me and mum like dirt and he's never home." He trailed off. "I'm scared something will happen to him" Malfoy finished tears rolling silently down his cheeks.

Without warning, Hermione had flung her arms around Malfoys neck. They sat there hugging in a tight embrace, Malfoy elated. He held her small body close to his as he stroked her hair, his eyes closed. He couldn't believe it, he felt like the luckiest person on the planet.

After what seemed like an eternity, they broke apart, Hermione looking flushed and silence filled the carriage. Hermione smiled.

"Look," said Malfoy seriously, leaning closer to her, "I'm sorry for everything that's happened. I know that sounds a bit pathetic, but I really am. You have no idea how hard it is" he finished.

"How did this happen?" she asked him imploringly.

"I don't know. I mean, I used to see you just as Potters friend who was just really clever, but then last year, when I saw you at the Yule Ball, I couldn't believe it. I had never looked at you in that way before and since then," he looked down nervously, "your all I think about" he mumbled, his usually pale face flushing pink.

The rest of the train journey was spent talking about everything and anything. Malfoy had never laughed as much as he did with Hermione. He felt like this was too good to be true, that this could not be happening to him, but he wasn't prepared to worry about that now he thought as he purchased a pumpkin pasty for both him and Hermione. He didn't know how he would survive without talking to her for the next few weeks but she had promised to write to him before giving him a hug and hopping off the train to meet her parents who greeted her enthusiastically from the station. Malfoy smiled to himself, he was walking on air.

"Are you ok?" he asked her gently and she returned his question with a nod but Malfoy did not believe her.

"What's happened?" he asked her, leaning towards her slightly.

"Oh nothing, don't worry about it" she said unconvincingly. Malfoy place his hand upon her knee, making her flinch. He withdrew it immediately.

"Sorry" he mumbled, looking out of the window instead.

A few minutes of silence passed between the two before Malfoy spoke again. "Where are Potter and Weasley?" he asked. She cast another fearful glance towards Malfoy.

"You think I know something don't you" he asked, slightly angry but upset at the same time.

"No" she replied quietly, "I just know that your fathers a death eater, so maybe he would know" she explained, staring at the ground.

"I'm sorry" she said, and she meant it. "I didn't mean to upset you" she said.

After what seemed like an eternity, they broke apart, Hermione looking flushed and silence filled the carriage. Hermione smiled.

"Look," said Malfoy seriously, leaning closer to her, "I'm sorry for everything that's happened. I know that sounds a bit pathetic, but I really am. You have no idea how hard it is" he finished.

"How did this happen?" she asked him imploringly.

Malfoy smiled to himself as he gatherered his belongings together, thinking of the past few hours he had spent alone with Hermione. He couldn't believe how much fun he had had with her, it was better than anything he had ever imagined. Well, almost anything he thought smirking to himself. After checking the compartment for anything he may have forgotten, he pulled out his wand from his jeans and muttered the incantation that would enable the compartment to become visible again to onlookers. He felt guilty as he stuffed his wand back into his pocket, but it had been a necessary precaution he told himself. After all, If Crabbe or Goyle, or any other student from his year in fact, had seen him with Hermione, rumours would be spread about the two of them and Malfoy could not allow this to happen.His reputation was on the line, and he was not about to blow four years of hard work over a girl, not yet at least he told himself as he hopped off the train, pulling his trunk along behind him, stumbling slightly due to the sheer weight that the small trunk carried.

He scanned the station, looking for his father but his search was short lived. He saw his father standing just a few yards away, sneering slightly as Longbottom passed by, tripping over his own robes. "Ready" Lucius stated, not sparing a glance for Draco, "Let's go" he continued, as he spun around and walked towards the barrier. Malfoy hurried to keep up, and as he ran through the barrier, walked to the car, and for practically the entire journey back home, the battle in his head raged on. On one hand, he wanted to see Herimone, discover more about her, understand the way she worked, allow her to trust him. However, befriending Granger was like a death sentence. Not only would his father disown him, but he would be made a laughing stock in the Slytherin common room. He had been able to pass of Pansy's outburst as dillusional, that the idea was insane even, but even then, everyone, not just Slytherins had treated him like a traitor, like the idea of a Gryffindor and Slytherin was unforgivable. Nobody it seemed was open to the possibility and although he didnt want to admit it, Malfoy was scared of what would happen to him. He knew he was being selfish. He wanted Granger, but he wanted his reputation too.

After a mere two days at home, Draco was longing to return to Hogwarts. His predictions had been correct. His father was away during the nights, returning early morning looking worn down and defeated. Malfoy had only attempted to speak to his father twice in the time that he had been home and on both occasions he had been shouted at and threatened. Malfoy was sure that if his mother had not been present both of the male malfoys would of used there wands against each other. However, his mother, who was away just as much as Lucius, attempted to keep the peace within the household, putting on a front whenever Draco was around. However, Malfoy had heard them arguing into the night, Narcissa had pleaded with Lucius but it was no use, he would not hear of it, he had shouted at her and told her that there was no choice and if she didn't see that then she was more stupid than he had thought. Malfoy, who had never known his parents to act like this, had found it most unnerving and spent most of his free time in his room, counting down the minutes until he could go back to Hogwarts. On several occasions he had found himself feeling so miserable and could not imagine anyone else feeling as bad as he did. He was even counting down the days until he could return to school on a calendar which he kept beside his bed. He had never lived like this. His parents had always treated him like a prince, but it seemed that he was now being given as much attention as the house elf. Malfoy did not complain though, instead he spent hours locked up in his bedroom, looking longingly at a piece of parchment which was now so worn it looked a fair few years old.

Dear Draco,

Hope your holidays are going well, I hope this reaches you in time for Christmas day. I hope that you have a good day! I am staying with Ron and Harry for Christmas as my parents are going to visit relatives. Ron's dad is ok just so you know, but he's still quite badly injured.

I have enclosed a card for you to say Happy Christmas,

Write back soon,

Hermione

Xxx

Draco had re-read the letter many times since it first arrived and had hastily written a reply which he had sent back with the snowy owl. A pang of anger had hit him when he had realised that she was staying with Potter. Hatred pulsed through his veins towards Potter as it now did to Blaise. Malfoy knew that Potter was after Hermione, he had seen how he treated her for the past four years, and he did not trust him at all. Hermione may have thought that he was just acting friendly but Malfoy was positive that Potter had other motives. Weasley, on the other hand, was no threat to Malfoy. After all, why would he be? Thought Malfoy, chuckling to himself. Compared to Potter, Weasley was a joke. Slightly cheered by the thought, Malfoy went down to dinner, to find the house elf, on tip toes, stirring what looked like a mix of mud and water.

"Dinner will be served in just one minute Mr Malfoy sir" squeaked the house elf, his voice shaking slightly at the size of Draco looming over the pot, a look of disgust on his face.

"Where is father? Where is mother?" demanded Malfoy.

"Out as far as I know sir" replied the elf, looking slightly scared, waiting for Malfoy's reaction.

After a few moments, Malfoy sat down, placing his head in his hands, rubbing his forehead gently. The house elf tiptoed over to the table, a bowl of stew in his small grubby hands and placed it in front of Draco. He then retrieved a cracker and placed it on the table alongside Malfoy.

"Merry Christmas" said the house elf before retreating towards the door, leaving Malfoy alone with his thoughts.

Christmas dinner had finished leaving everyone, well nearly everyone, sleepy and full. After what seemed like an age, Hermione reluctantly retreated from the rotting door and made her way upto her own room whcih was located two floors above. Since her return to Grimmauld Place, Harry had kept himself shut up in his room, guilt flooding through his veins at the thought of Mr Weasleys attack. Hermione, who had tried to talk to Harry for the thousandth time, entered her room deep in thought about Harry and how she could possibly get him to see sense. See that he wasn't to blame for the attack, but so far her attempts had been unnsuccessful.

She finally reached her own room where she found Ginny already in bed propped up by several pillows. Hermione smiled at her weakly before collapsing on her own moth-eaten bedspread.

"I saw your letter" Ginny said, her tone was calm but it was clear to Hermione immediately that Ginny was fuming.

"What letter?" asked Hermione, looking towards Ginny curiously.

"The one from Malfoy" continued Ginny in the same tone.

Hermione let out a long sigh before sitting up and turning towards Ginny who was giving her a stern look while turning red with anger, reminding Hermione alot of Ron. Ginny threw the neatly folded piece of parchment that she was holding and looked to Hermione for an explanation. Calmly, Hermione untied the parchment for the second time that day and read the words that she had already memorised.

Hermione,

Hoping that your Christmas with Potter is going well. Glad Weasley's dad is alright. My Christmas has turned into a nightmare and all i want is to see your smile again. Anyway, I'll leave you to it

See you soon,

Draco

xxx

"Draco" she muttered, forgetting about the stares she was recieving from Ginny.

"Well?" Ginny exclaimed, looking angrier than Hermione had ever seen her. "How could you Hermione. How dare you talk to him about my dad! Why are you even talking to taht scum?" she shouted, causing Hermione to check that the door was firmly closed and that no extendable ears had peaked underneath to listen to their argument.

"I'm sorry Ginny-" she started.

"Sorry?! What the hell Hermione? How has this even happened? After all this time? It's just a trick Hermione. He's trying to get information for his father on the order!" Ginny continued, anger seemed to radiate off her.

"I'm not stupid" Hermione snapped, slightly angry at how Ginny was treating her, as if she were a little girl. "Do you really think I'm that stupid? Of course not. I know very well that this could be a trick but I don't think it is and that should be good enough for you" she finished, her hair getting slightly bushier. "I would NEVER say ANYTHING about the Order, you KNOW that!"

After considering her for a while, Ginny slowly nodded. "I suppose if you really think that greasy haired little rat is trustworthy then that's good enough for me" stated Ginny in a monotonous tone. It could not be clearer the she did not trust Malfoy one bit and she wasn't about to disguise her hatred towards him. "Have you even thought about Harry and Ron?" she added.

"Ginny me and Draco are just friends-"

"I don't care what you two are!! It's SICK Hermione. What will Harry say about this?" she asked.

"Oh for heavens sake Ginny, Harry is my friend, he would understand. Stop acting as if this is centred around him, it's not. Goodness, if you just relaxed around him a bit he might take more notice of you Ginny. Stop idolising him! He's just a boy!" she shouted, positively furious with Ginny.

Ginny looked at her with absolute shock impressioned onto her face. She balled her fists to prevent her from saying something she'd regret. "Fine Hermione, but i don't want anything to do with this, i think you're absolutely crazy for trusting him. I never will and you know neither Harry or Ron will," she revealed, as if this was new knowledge to Hermione, "And judging by that letter, you'll have a problem at school between Malfoy and Harry" she finished, her tone back to being calm and angry simultaneously.

"What are you talking about, Draco won't want anyone to know either obviously" Hermione answered, slightly upset by the thought of her being Malfoys dirty secret that would ruin his reputation.

"I don't mean that" said Ginny impatiently, pulling the letter from her grasp, "'Hope your enjoying your Christmas with Potter'" she recited, looking up towards Hermione, "did you not mention Ron?" she asked, slightly curiously.

"Well yes," Hermione remembered, "I said i was staying with Harry and Ron for Christmas, but wh-"

"Ahha!" exclaimed Ginny, a look of triumph plastered on her face. "Malfoy's jealous of Harry" she smiled, looking back at the green letters impressed upon the parchment, "the sarcasm oozes off the page" she insisted.

Hermione frowned as Ginny climbed back into bed, bidding her goodnight. Surely she wouldn't have to put up with even more disunity between her friends she thought as she turned the light off, preparing for a night of restless sleep.