Chapter One: Death's Message

"We'll meet again one day, Draco" Death told him.

"Yeah I know, when I'm dead." Draco said with a sarcastic tone and a roll of his eyes.

"Actually I meant before then. You have a destiny to complete." Death said as he disappeared in front of Draco.

Draco woke with a start and looked around the dormitory. Weird. He hadn't thought about that encounter since it happened at the beginning of September and now it was nearly the summer holiday. Admittedly he has had other things on his mind... in particular the decision he had made. He had just turned seventeen and come of age but he was stuck at the school over the holiday. Well...at least I have the library to myself. All the students and most of the teachers were going home for the summer and he was going to be stuck here with the few teachers that stay. He sat in bed wondering what to do over summer for a while before deciding he wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep and getting up and dressed. He wondered into the Slytherin common room and sat in his favourite armchair. He pulled a book out of his school bag, his Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook, and started to read. He had completely read, word for word, all of his school books but he had nothing better to do and he wanted to stay quiet to avoid waking anyone else up. Slowly the other Slytherins started to get up and wonder in and out of the common room. Deciding he would prefer to avoid walking in a large crowd to get to breakfast, and partly to avoid Pansy, Draco left the common room and slowly made his way up to breakfast. This was the last day of lessons as the headteacher had decided that lessons would be cancelled for the last three days due to recent events. Draco couldn't wait for them to be over as although no one was staring at him he couldn't help but feel like they were. He wondered if this was how Potter felt whenever his name was mentioned or he got involved in something...which was a lot. He didn't talk to anyone during breakfast and walked to his first lesson alone. Potions had always been one of his favourite lessons, not only because Snape used to teach it, but he thought it was one of the more useful subjects. However he barely heard a word that Slughorn had said and the rest of his day was the same.
He spent most of his evening out by the lake just watching everything, he had taken his guitar out with him but couldn't find the energy to play it. As the evening got cooler and the sky started to turn into Van Gogh's painting Draco walked back inside and down to the Slytherin common room.

"Where have you been?" Pansy voice said as soon as he entered the room. Draco sighed and walked towards her.

"Why does it matter?" He said with an exasperated tone.

"You could get hurt... or someone could try to kidnap you..." Pansy started to say getting slightly hysterical.

"None of that could happen. Not here. Not at Hogwarts." He said cutting her off.

"I haven't seen you much recently. It's like you been avoiding me." She pouted.

"Don't take it personally I'm avoiding everyone." But in particular you. He thought. Pansy had become very clingy to him and had been trying to flirt with him, unfortunately for her Draco knew this and didn't see her in that way and he never had.

"But why? And why are you avoiding me?" She started to whine at him.

"Because I am. Look I'm not in the mood tonight. Goodnight Pansy." He turned and left at this. As soon as his head hit the pillow he was asleep. It had been a long day.

"We'll meet again one day, Draco" Death told him.

"Yeah I know, when I'm dead." Draco said with a sarcastic tone and a roll of his eyes.

"Actually I meant before then. You have a destiny to complete." Death said as he disappeared in front of Draco.

He woke up feeling more confused than the previous morning. It was still quite early so he dressed quietly, picked up his guitar and left the room. Draco walked with no real idea where he was going and eventually found himself by the lake again. He had always liked the lake it made him feel calm and relaxed, not something he felt too often anymore, so he sat on the ground and leant against a tree looking out at the lake. He watched the water for a while before picking up his guitar and started to play a song.

"I didn't know you could play the guitar." A voice said. Draco closed his eyes for a moment... why wouldn't anyone leave him alone. He turned his head towards the voice to see Hermione Granger standing there looking down at him in surprise.

"I get the feeling that there's a lot you don't know about me Granger." He replied and returned his gaze to the lake.

"That's probably true. Can you play any other instruments?" She asked and followed his gaze and looked out at the lake. Draco didn't understand Granger sometimes, like right now why was she interested in what instruments he could play?

"No." Was all that he said.

"Would you like to learn more? I think a violin or a flute would suit you." She returned her eyes to him.

"Yes and why those instruments in particular?" He motioned to her to sit down when it became clear that she wasn't going to leave him alone anytime soon.

"Hmm... I'm not too sure if I'm honest. I suppose that it's because they're rather elegant instruments and you have a sort of elegance." She said sitting down next to him with a thoughtful look at him. Draco thought about this for a moment... maybe he would learn the violin, he was already used to playing a string instrument it couldn't be that different. They sat there in silence for a few minutes when Hermione broke it. "Why are you out here so early?"

"I could ask you the same thing." He replied raising his eyebrow at her. He knew he was only putting off answering it for a second since she wouldn't stop until she got an answer or until she figured it out. It was one of the things that he both admired and hated her for, well not so much hate anymore.

"I'm out here because I woke up earlier than usual and need to do something for a couple of hours." She replied. "What about you?" Now she had raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

"I'm always up early." Was his reply. It was technically the truth he was always up early and he often came out to the grounds but recently he came out to the lake because he had a lot of things to be thinking over, but there was no way he was going to tell Granger this. Hermione, however, didn't look convinced but she dropped it... for now at least. They returned to a comfortable silence both wrapped up in their own thoughts. As the minutes past Draco started to pick at his guitar again playing as soft tune while still thinking over recent events. So much had happened and now he had to spend summer at school but there were other things to worry about, like all his possessions at his home and not to mention his parents.

"Draco. Can I ask you something?" Hermione said, in a cautious tone, coming out of her thoughts and dragging Draco out of his.

"That depends on what you want to ask." He replied again raising his eyebrow at her. He didn't like the tone she was using - it meant she was going to ask him something she knew he wouldn't want to answer.

"Why did you do it? Why did you change?" She asked softly. Draco thought about his answer and decided that the truth was probably the best thing to tell her.

"Uh... Well I guess I had been thinking about it for a long time. Even before coming to Hogwarts I had some doubts about what my parents said." Hermione's honey brown eyes widened at this but Draco ignored her reaction and continued. "Then coming to Hogwarts made me question it more... you actually made me question it a lot. You know since your the best in our year." He added the last part quickly seeing the sceptical look on her face. Hermione had started to blush as he had never complimented her before even if other people had said the same thing about her she never expected Draco Malfoy to say it. She studied him for a moment thinking about everything she knew about, everything she thought she knew about him and how much she didn't. She had always thought that what you saw with Draco was all there was but now it seems there is a lot more to him.

"Why are you looking at me weird?" Draco snapped her out of her thoughts.

"I'm not!" She glared at him. He just rolled his eyes in response. A light breeze had started and the sun had fully risen. Draco started to get up deciding it was about breakfast time and he offered his hand to Hermione to help her up.

"I have manners Granger." He told her when she raised her eyebrow up at him questioning him, again. She blushed slightly taken back by what he said and accepted his hand. They walked to the great hall together for breakfast mostly in silence yet again both were wrapped up in their own thoughts. When Draco sat at the Slytherin table he received a hurt look from Pansy.
"What have I done now?" He asked her from across the table. He was starting to get tired of all her glares and looks she gives him when he's pretty sure he's done nothing wrong.

"Where were you this morning?" Was what she asked him.

"Outside. I woke up early."

"With her?" She pouted with a hurt tone to her voice.

"We bumped into each other it happens when your in a school like this." He replied sarcastically while helping himself to some toast. Pansy didn't ask him anymore questions but continued to give him hurt looks throughout breakfast. Not that he paid her any attention, he was too busy planning what to do with his day. He was about to leave the hall when a little first year Slytherin ran up to him. She handed him a piece of parchment, he told her thanks and quickly read the note before leaving the hall. He walked to the floor of where the headteacher's office is located and said the password, which they hadn't thought to change yet, and hopped onto the stairs. He knocked on the doors and heard the voice of the headteacher say "Enter." He closed the door behind him and walked up to the desk and sat down when he was indicated to do so.

"You wanted to see me Professor?" He asked. The headteacher looked up at him.

"Yes Mr. Malfoy I did." Professor Dumbledore said, eyes sparkling like always.

Author's Note: Hello! I know I haven't uploaded for ages and I'm sorry but I'm back now. So far I have really enjoyed writing this and I've already written chapter two. I think I will upload it in two weeks time because then during to two weeks I'll try to get chapter three written, I've never had a schedule before so hopefully this works. Anyway I was really excited to upload this so I hope you enjoy!
Bye! X