This is a non-canon story. Different couples, different situations, etc. I am changing a lot from the book and doing it my own way. If you don't like it, you don't have to read it. If you do like it, then please, leave me some reviews because I love reading about what people think of my stories.

Disclaimer – I own nothing except my own ideas. Everything else belongs to Rowling.

Chapter 1

The scent of blueberry waffles wafted across his face as he slowly opened his eyes to see the already risen sun staring at him from a cloudless sky. Draco Malfoy stretched his hands out as he twisted his body left to right on the twin sized bed. He yawned and pulled himself to sit up as he looked around the small guest room he had been living in for the past month and a half.

The small wooden work desk, that was still covered with his new school books, which he had already begun to study, stood in front of the small white laced curtain covered window. He inhaled the vanilla scent that always engulfed the room and smiled as the scent of those freshly made waffles reached his nose again. He swung his legs off the bed and stood up, stretching his full body once more before his eyes moved to the opened letter on the night stand table next to the bed.

He had read the letter at least five times, but the contents never changed. The letter was sent by his father and it was simple…precise…and to the point. He was ordered to accompany his father to the Quidditch World Cup that weekend, which meant he had to return home by tonight. His summer vacation was, in effect, being cut short by a full week. This angered him immensely because he had yet to accomplish his goal of this vacation.

He sighed to himself and walked over to the small ensuite bathroom and washed his face quickly before staring at himself in the mirror. He had grown another few inches over the summer and was now standing tall at 5'9. His pale blond hair had grown out again and was now hanging down in front of his grey eyes. He should cut it. But, she liked how his hair looked when it was long, and that reason alone made him stray from cutting his hair until the day before the Hogwarts Train departed.

"Draco! Breakfast is ready!" her sweet and relaxing voice reached his ears.

"Alright, I'll be down in a minute!" Draco yelled back.

He splashed water onto his face once more before walking out of the guest room, that had quickly turned into his room over the past 3 summers, and into the familiar hallways of the house he had come to love and appreciate. He made his way down the narrow staircase and stood in front of the kitchen, staring at the happy family sitting around their breakfast nook.

The father was busy reading his morning newspaper while the mother and daughter discussed in earnest about their upcoming annual mother/daughter shopping trip.

"I do need some new night shirts to sleep in." the daughter said softly as she began to chew on her waffle. "Oh, and Ron just wrote to me. His father has an extra ticket to the Quidditch World Cup, so he wanted to invite me to go. It's this weekend … but I'm going to turn them down because I want more time with Draco first."

"It's fine, Hermione." Draco cleared his throat and entered the kitchen, taking a seat next to her. He shoveled some waffles onto his plate and drenched it with syrup before turning to face Hermione. "My dad wrote last night and demanded that I come home tonight and attend the World Cup with him."

"So, you're leaving tonight?" Hermione's face fell. It was a look that she rarely showed, and when she did, she only showed it to Draco.

Draco slowly nodded his head and looked down before shoving a piece of waffle into his mouth. He knew that if he stared at her some more he would be compelled to reach over and hold her tightly. Something that he wasn't ready to do yet. Sure, they've hugged countless times, ever since their first year. But holding her…the way he wanted to…well that was taking their feelings to a completely new level.

"Well then, we should do everything we can today!" Hermione announced in a positive tone. "School is only a week away, and besides, we'll see each other at the world cup. I'll write to Ron now and tell him that I'll accept."

Draco nodded again as she stood up and left the kitchen. He knew that she was going to pout in her room for at least fifteen minutes before she actually wrote anything to that dumb redhead. Draco gripped his fork tightly, causing Mrs. Granger to gently place a hand over his own, alerting him to loosen his grip.

"You'll see each other at school, Draco." She tried to console. "It'll be alright."

"Yeah." He mumbled, shoveling the rest of his food into his mouth.

He loved Hogwarts … it was like a second home to him … but he hated the façade he had to always portray. He had been acting his entire life, so one would think that he was an expert by now. But still, it pained him because he hated to hurt Hermione's feelings. She was the only true friend he had, and if anything happened to her, he knew that he would never be able to live with himself.

He remembered the first day he realized that they were going to be best friends. It was during their first year, while making his own little study space in the library, he had seen her from across the room. She had made a space similar to his; textbooks organized the same way, mountains of parchment, and one single non-school book to read when they needed a break. She was an overachiever, just like he secretly was. He hadn't been aware then that she was muggleborn, so he had walked over to her and introduced himself to her. After that, they came to the library separately, 3 times a week, to study together.

They became close very fast, and once he found out that she was, indeed, muggleborn, none of it mattered at that point. The only person who had a problem with that was the Slytherin-loving, fake Draco. However, after he explained his difficult situation to her, she quickly understood and agreed to keep their friendship a secret.

As she made friends with Harry and Ron, it became slightly harder to keep their relationship secretive because the boys wanted to always be near her, especially when it came to doing homework. But, since they hated the library, she always used that excuse to go study or hang out with Draco. The only person who caught on to their secretive meetings was the librarian, but she always kept things to herself.

Their first year ended with Hermione accompanying Harry and Ron to the third floor in search of protecting the sorcerer's stone. She had been grateful then to have a friend like Draco, because he was the one who had told her about the devil's snare plant. But, the end of their first year led to the beginning of their summer visits.

After writing to each other constantly during the first few days, Mr. and Mrs. Granger agreed to let Hermione invite Draco over for a few weeks. Well, a few weeks quickly became the entire summer. His mother, who had learnt about Hermione and fully supported their secret relationship because she had never seen her son so human and happy before, helped him cover up his real summer by crafting a fake one to her husband. As far as Lucius was concerned, his son was hanging out with his Slytherin mates all summer, under the watchful eye of his wife.

They learnt even more about each other than before that summer, and the bond of friendship was so secure that nothing could tear through it. The impending start of their second year came with some new surprises. Draco had been ordered by his father to join the Slytherin's Quidditch team, which he never wanted to do. He loved playing Quidditch for fun, and fun only.

What he hated the most that year though was the fact that he still had to keep their friendship a secret. Calling her a mudblood, in front of everyone, although she knew it was going to happen, hurt him more than he would ever admit. He had seen the slight spark in her eyes when he had said the word, and he knew that even though she knew he didn't mean it, she was still slightly hurt.

He had apologized to her profusely that night in the library, and a tight hug from her was all he needed to know that she wasn't hurt anymore. The rest of the year was interesting and slightly scary with all the students being petrified and the Chamber of Secrets being open. He had secretly worked with Hermione throughout the year; giving her advice on her polyjuice potion, and helping her figure out what was petrifying all the students.

He almost lost his mind when he heard that she had been petrified, right after they had finally figured out that it was a Basilisk in the Chamber. He knew that Harry and Ron were going down to the Chamber, and had opted to stay at Hermione's side the entire time she was petrified.

Madame Pomfrey knew about their secret relationship then and she knowingly kept their secret. Draco spent every night, laying in a cot next to Hermione until Professor Sprout's mandrakes were ready. He only left when Harry and Ron came to briefly visit Hermione.

As he stared down at her, in her petrified state, he knew then that his feelings for her were much stronger than just friendship. He knew then that he couldn't survive if anything happened to her. The second the life in her eyes returned, he had pulled her into a back breaking hug and cried. He had no issues with letting his guard down in front of her and allowing her to see him cry. He trusted her explicitly.

They spent the entire summer together again then. Draco had quickly become a member of the Granger family, and her parents understood their secretive relationship at school once they had explained the way of the wizarding world. Their summer vacations had quickly become Draco's happiest memories.

As third year approached them, Draco had wanted to tell her about his growing feelings, but the right moment never seemed to arise. The third year seemed to fly by them quickly. The only major thing that happened for him was being attacked by a hippogriff. He had begged his father to leave it be and not try anything, but of course, the Malfoy name must be upheld. He explained to Hermione that his hands were tied when it came it the Hippogriff's fate, and Hermione had understood.

Getting punched by her was another agreed plan to keep their friends at bay from discovering their secret relationship. The more fake animosity they showed to each other in public, the less suspicious looks they received. What he hadn't taken into account was how hard she could punch. She had seen him in the library the next day and apologized repeatedly before she had explained what had happed with Harry, Sirus Black and Professor Lupin.

He was surprised to hear that Peter Pettigrew was alive and had been in animagus form for years. It made him want to become and animagus himself. What worried him was the sudden chill in the air that greeted him as he returned to the Malfoy Manor at the beginning of that summer. The change in the air was clear and scary enough that his mother had insisted he go by Hermione as soon as he could.

So, he left the next day and had been spending every day since with Hermione and her family. They read together, watched tv together and listened to music a lot. They did many muggle things that he knew he would get teased and shunned for if his house mates found out.

"Hermione?" he knocked on her door as she scribbled away on a piece of parchment. Crookshanks, her loving cat sauntered over to him and rubbed against his leg slightly before walking off. "Are you ok?"

"Yes." Hermione sighed. "I just didn't want summer to be over for us just yet."

"Neither do I." Draco moved to sit next to her on the bed. "Thank you … for being so loyal to me …"

"I'd do anything for you, Draco." Hermione admitted. "You're my best friend."

Draco nodded and hugged her tightly. That was all he needed to hear at the moment. He kissed her forehead and hugged her again before pulling a new text book from her night stand onto his lap.

"Let's study a bit." He suggested.

Hermione's eyes lit up as she nodded.

A/N

So, here's the first chapter. I'm picking up from beginning of the 4th book, onwards. I hope you all like it. If you do, please leave a comment below! J