CHAPTER -1

She was standing in front of him, giving him a defiant glare which he graciously returned with one of his infamous smirks. She looked away, trying to control the anger threatening to burst forth any minute.

"Stay away" She told him tersely without meeting his gaze. She could feel his grey orbs searching for her brown ones. She knew he wanted to intimidate her. And she knew he could. And she didn't want to give him that chance.

"I am done, Draco, I don't want anything to do with you."

She finally gave in and met his gaze. His amusing eyes were met with her pleading ones. He took her hand in hers- firmly. She just shook her head and tried to pull away when she felt him pull her against him.

He yanked her towards him and she sighed. Defeated.

"Why? I thought you liked the dark. Didn't you want this? To be close to the sexy mysterious enigma of a guy whom no one else could fathom? Didn't want to be the special one who could understand him? Envy of all? Didn't you get what you wanted? Don't you finally get me? Know me?" He mocked her cruelly, snaking an arm around her waist.

"I was stupid. I was a kid. I am still a kid. I don't want this. Any of this." She said peeling herself away from him. She knew he wasn't taking this seriously. He was mocking her because he was a little upset. But she knew he wasn't angry. And that meant that he wasn't taking any of this seriously. 'That's something to look forward to,'she thought to herself sarcastically, 'The angry Draco Malfoy.'

"Sweet, innocent, Hermione..." He drawled skimming her cheek with the back of his palm. She flinched and moved farther away.

"Do you know what everybody is saying about you? They're all saying that you're my whore. That I stick it to you every day. That that's the only reason I keep you around" He chuckled a cold chuckle.

Hermione just rolled her eyes. She knew he wanted to hurt her by his words but his effort was futile. They had never had sex. Or kissed for that matter. At least not on the mouth. There were times when he would ruffle her hair pleasantly and kiss her cheek when she would be taking about something. But those were rare times. Untouched by arguments or insults.

"You're innocent because of me. Because Ididn't let anybody ruin it. Or you. And now you're leaving?" He spat indignant.

"What the hell does that even mean? Huh?" Hermione shouted back. She could feel her cheeks warm up. She wanted to hurt him. She wrapped her fingers around her wand in the pocket of her Gryffindor robes.

She wanted to run away from him.

She never ever wanted to see him again.

But she knew he wouldn't let her go.

She knew he...he loved her too much.

Her eyes widened with disbelief at the thought which came to her a moment ago.

HE LOVED HER?

Of course he loved her. In his sick twisted way he loved her, didn't he? That's why he'd never let her go. He'd insult her at times, try to control her most of the times, argue with her more than half the time, but he'd never ask her to leave.

"What that means is that because of me nobody dared to touch you. Or do anythingfor that matter! Do you have any idea what happens to little prefects who go strolling the corridors late at night carelessly? They come to know the importance of doing rounds with partners the hard way. Isaved you, NOT your Weasel and Pothead. Nobodydared to cross me." He said victoriously, his eyes gleaming gleefully. He was scaring her.

"What do you want, Draco? A thank you card? Is that what you want?" She asked him angrily, her eyebrows knit together in pain and confusion. She was so tired.

"You're damn well right, I expect some gratitude. You could start by stop being a spineless spoilt brat and by bucking up." He said walking towards her. They were in their colossal Hogwarts library. The library was empty and they were standing on the far end, rendered invisible to other students because of their distance and the colossal bookshelves that came in between. Hermione had also cast a muffliato spell to avoid any eavesdroppers.

"You could start by staying." He took both of her hands in hers, intertwining their fingers.

"I know you think I am your sun, Draco...and I know you consider yourself the moon. But don't you see? You have to stop living through me. Stop using my light to shine." She hesitated before adding,

"You... you're sucking the light out of me." She forced herself to say. She could suddenly feel her back being slammed against the wall. She winced from the pain and groaned. She opened her eyes to find herself being exposed to Draco's chest. She could feel his breath on her head.

"You're not leaving." He growled in her ear. She shivered involuntarily.

"I didn't know you loved me so much." She finally said. She could feel Draco stiffen against her, processing the words that she had just spouted. And then, he ripped himself away from her.

"I don't love you!" He scoffed indignantly hurting Hermione further.

"Well, that's good news. I should leave, then."

Draco's strong hands caught her small wrists and pushed her against the wall. He buried his face in her shoulder. She could feel him shake. He was sobbing softly.

"Don't leave me."

"Stop crying, Draco," She said softly, wrenching her hands free from his grasp and pulling him into an embrace. She rubbed his back gently- the way he liked it. And then she dug her nails in his back and dragged it forcefully down, till his waist, making him cry out in pain.

He glowered at her. "You little wench-"

"Shut up, Draco! I am so done with you and your stupid lies and crocodile tears. I know you're going to take the Dark Mark. Leave me the fuck alone."

He grabbed her wrists before she could storm away and yanked her towards him.

"Don't you think you're letting that tongue of yours run rather wildly?" He whispered angrily, dangerously.

"Blah, blah, blah. Are you done with your theatrics, you git? What do you want from me!?" Hermione screamed pushing him away.

"You're going to be mine. It's pathetic to even fight it. You're mine," He growled advancing towards her. He wanted to intimidate her and he was succeeding. Almost. Hermione took a deep breath to rein in her temper while she said tersely,

"I am not yours. I belong to myself... I am breaking up with you. You are officially du-"

But she couldn't finish her sentence because his lips descended on hers to pull her in a brutal searing kiss. She tried to fight him off with her hands but he caught them with one of his hand and held them above her head. She clamped her mouth shut tightly refusing to allow him entry into her mouth. She would knee him in the gut but she was held tightly against the wall.

He bit on her lip hard, making her gasp and suddenly be engulfed by his tongue.

His mouth tasted like cigarettes and sorrow.

She stopped fighting. But she didn't participate. Sensing her submission, he loosened his grasp on her hands. She seized this moment to grab his hair, and rip his face off of hers. He groaned in pain from the force and staggered back. They both were breathing heavily.

"Not bad for a first kiss huh?" he asked smirking. His grey eyes gleaming with joy and triumph. Oh, how she wanted to crush his soul!

"You are an asshole. And that," She said between breaths. "Was not my first kiss."

His stance changed immediately. His back straightened and he glowered at her.

"I thought I was your first boyfriend." He said with gritted teeth.

"Yeah, so?"

"Who was it, then? Some French bloke in France?" He growled. "WEASELY?"He punched his fist on the wall next to her face, making her shudder, but also reminding her why she was doing this.

"It doesn't matter, Draco. You reminded me why I was doing this. You're too volatile, too violent, too possessive for me to handle. And I know Draco Malfoy that you are planning on taking the Dark Mark!"

"I WON'T!" He screamed.

"Okay, let's play that game now, where you pretend you aren't being pressurized by your vile father to take the dark mark!" She screamed back. "While we're playing this game, I think Astoria would be perfect for you, she's had a crush on you since forever and she's the perfect pureblood airheaded girlfriend for you." Hermione said mocking him bitterly.

Draco's blood boiled. She wasn't only pulling this stupid act of 'dumping' him and talking about his father but she was also trying to fix her up with some bimbo? That thought infuriated him further. But he knew screaming at her would only prove her right so he took a deep breath and tried to rein in his temper.

"'Mione, come on, let this go. I'll let you meet the Weasel and Scarhead more often. I-"

"Their names are Ronald and Harry! Godric, Grow up, Draco! This is getting very unbecoming of you! I was friends with Ron way before I knew you, okay? I love both Harry and Ron. And you can never seem to grasp that concept! You continue to mock Harry and Ron cruelly disregarding my feelings!"

"Do you have to keep saying that?" He asked, frustrated, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Hermione frowned, "What?"

"That you love them, Dammit! You never say that you love me! And you're all over them. WHY do you even need them or anybody when you have me?" He shouted making Hermione's heart patter against her chest crazily. He hated it when she brought Scarhead and that stupid Weasel up. Everybodyloved them. Especially that stupid wanker Potter. Why couldn't anyone love Draco? Why the fuck couldn't Hermione love Draco? OnlyDraco? That wasn't too much to ask, was it? Draco didn't think so.

"Not love you?" She screamed back incredulously. Of course, I love you, you sodding moron, but you're not right for me. We are not right for each other,Hermione thought to herself painfully. She could feel her insides chip away slowly because Draco thought she didn't love him. She loved him with every fibre of her being. And that's why it was so hard to leave him. His family was crazy. Even though Draco had promised Hermione that he wouldn't take the Dark Mark, Hermione worried about him going back on his promise. His temper was getting worse every passing day. He was getting violent, paranoid and crazy. And she just couldn't take it.

She remembered the first time she had met him, in the high class party her parents had thrown when they had shifted to England from France.

Hermione had been waiting anxiously for Ronald and his family to show up. Mrs. Weasely was close friends with Hermione's mother. They both had been classmates in school. Hermione knew Ron from her childhood. They were very good friends. She wasn't that good friends with Ginny but she hoped to be. Hermione had left Beauxbatons Academy and she wanted to tell Ron that she was to join Hogwarts now.

As she greeted all the guests, she was most struck by the Malfoys and their identical pale blond hair, especially the younger Malfoy who scrutinized her with a sneer. She felt offended and violated as he scanned her petite form but she didn't say anything except offer a polite, cold smile which he hadn't bothered returning.

She made it a point to steer clear of him for the rest of the party. But she couldn't help listening to the gossip revolving around him. She heard a girl, Astoria, say that Draco, that was his name apparently, was top in his class and he was the perfect 'pureblood husband' material because of his looks, money and blood status which shocked Hermione immensely. She was surprised to come across such shallow people who searched for such shallow traits in a life partner. She also heard he was great 'in the sack' which confused her and after it was explained by a giggling pug-faced girl, Pansy, Hermione couldn't stop blushing at the intimate detail she was privy to about someone she didn't even know. She also came to know that Malfoy didn't really have 'girlfriends'; only flings which made Hermione dislike him immensely.

"Do you want to dance?" Somebody's voice had startled Hermione. She had turned around to see a tall lanky bloke standing there. She remembered greeting him and his parents but she couldn't quite recall his name. He was rather good looking.

"Of course." Hermione had said because that was polite thing to do. At that time, Hermione felt very awkward because she hadn't danced with a guy before and she was a little self-conscious in her off shoulder knee-length black dress. But her partner, Theodore Nott, as he had told her his name was, didn't seem to mind. He even asked her to call him Theo.

Hermione liked him. He was really funny. They even got on to making fun of the snobbish ladies who were huddled together and viewing everybody else with a disdainful look. Theo confessed his mother was part of the group too and so was Malfoy's, Hermione noted.

"Well, I must confess, I was rather taken aback with you being so nice, Hermione. When mother 'suggested'," Theo had made a face, "That I go dance with 'Miss Lyra', I was a bit sceptical, I thought you'd be like those," Theo said nodding towards Pansy, Astoria and her little sister whose name Hermione couldn't remember, "Airheads who think they're better than everyone else. You're fine, though," He had said smiling politely.

He had twirled Hermione around and Hermione caught stormy-grey eyes glaring at her with that same awful sneer. It was him. Draco Malfoy. But he wasn't alone, though. He was accompanied by a dark skinned boy who was taller than Malfoy and who was looking at Hermione with an interested look. She felt immensely uncomfortable.

Theo noticed this because he had asked what the matter was to which Hermione nodded towards the pair who were speaking to each other with their eyes pinned on Hermione. Theo only smiled at Hermione and led her to the pair, to her utter horror. Sensing her tension, Theo had asked her to calm down that they were all friends. He had also said that they were all in the same house, Slytherin.

At that time, Hermione only had a faint idea about the Houses at Hogwarts because of Ron, who mentioned it sometimes to her, but all in all she had had no idea of how intense the rivalry between houses could become.

"You looked really pretty while dancing." Blaise said, even before Hermione had the chance to greet the two friends properly. Quite taken aback by his boldness, the only thing Hermione could conjure up was an uncomfortable smile. She secretly wondered if Blaise was making fun of her.

"She's coming to Hogwarts with us from now on." Theo said, grinning.

"Which House are you hoping to get sorted into?" Blaise asked. Hermione felt like a little kid who was being asked what she wanted to be when she grew up.

"Um, does it matter?" she asked, confused.

"Of course, it does! What if you end up being a hufflepuff?" Blaise asked with distaste.

"I hope you get sorted into Slytherin." Theo said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"That's unlikely. She isn't cut to be a Slytherin." Malfoy had sharply said which hurt Hermione a little. Now when she thought about it, it was a compliment for her.

"And why exactly is that?" She had asked raising her head in defiance. He had merely looked down at her with an amused smirk and said, "Because you're too much of a Virgin Mary to be in Slytherin."

What the hell is that supposed to mean?, Hermione wanted to lunge at him to wipe off that awful smug but she was interrupted by Theo.

"Reckon she'll be in Ravenclaw then?" Theo added quickly, he was holding Hermione by her shoulders tightly, trying to calm her down.

"Let's just hope she's not a Gryffindor." Blaise said with disdain.

"Why?" Hermione barked angrily. "My friend is in Gryffindor and he's really amazing. I would love to be in Gryffindor."She crossed her arms across her chest as she spat the words at Draco instead of Blaise.

Draco did something that completely took Hermione back and even to this day, his action still confused her.

He had smiled.

It was a chaste smile, unadulterated with his malicious sneer or smirk. It was a very beautiful smile, which immediately made Hermione lose her concentration and wonder why on earth was she overreacting on issues she didn't care about or comprehend completely. Draco's smile surprised not only Hermione but also Blaise and Theodore. They had hardly ever seen Draco smile much and now he was smiling for this girl he had met a minute ago?

"Be careful what you wish for, Princess." He said with that evil gleam in his eyes which disturbed Hermione deeply.

"That was such a creepy thing to say." Hermione blurted without thinking and blushed profusely but she was surprised by the chuckles that emanated from the boys, including Malfoy.

Hermione had to excuse herself from them a moment later because she had caught a flash of red hair and she knew it belonged to one of the Weaselys. They were all very excited to see Hermione and Ginny was squealing with delight when Hermione revealed her admission into Hogwarts. They had chatted away for hours till it was time for them to leave, which, Hermione felt, was too soon. She did notice the tension between The Weasely family and others present there. This probably triggered their abrupt leave.

Later, when Hermione had gone to the Balcony to clear her head she was found bythe Draco Malfoy surprisingly. She was sitting on the broad railing, her legs dangling in a carefree manner; she was listening to muggle songs on her walkman. She took off her earphones and stared at him, waiting for him to explain his presence but he merely stared ahead as he propped himself on the broad railing.

"What's that in your hand?" He finally asked. She found his grey orbs looking at the walkman lying on her lap.

"It's a walkman." When he gave her a flat stare, devoid of any emotion, Hermione concluded he wanted her to explain further. "It's a machine-"

"Is it muggle?" She noted the disgust emanating from his voice.

"Yes, it is." She said feeling a little angry at his contemptuous tone.

"What are you doing with something as lowly as that?"

"It is not lowly! I love muggle music and I love muggles and-"

"Blood traitors and filth." Malfoy ended her sentence. She looked at him confused. What was he talking about? The word blood traitor wasn't alien to her but it was the first time somebody had said it to her.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You're friends with the Weaselys. They fraternize with mudbloods and that stupid man, Arthur Weasely, is obsessed with muggle artefacts."

"Shut up! How dare you insult Mr. Weasely like that? And blood superiority is a stupid notion. Anyone can be clever, talented despite their blood status. They all are my friends and if you can't respect that then we can't be friends."

"Who said I wanted to be friends?"Malfoy asked, startling Hermione. He was closer, his breath fanning her face. She immediately looked away from his penetrating gaze.What's wrong with him?She had thought.

"Well, youaresitting here making a pathetic attempt at conversation, I suppose in your twisted way this is your idea of making friends." She had said, crossing her hands across her chest, refusing to meet his eyes.

If she had, she would've noticed how surprised Draco had looked. He was surprised that a person he had met a few hours ago was able to see behind his cold demeanour and his mean comments to see his true intentions. He didn't feel comfortable knowing that she could read him that easily. He imagined his Father scoffing at him for letting a girl who didn't even know him a day know his feelings.

But somehow he couldn't help feel a little more than fascinated. Her pretty auburn curls falling below her waist, framing her heart-shaped face, her chocolate brown eyes penetrating into his cold grey ones.

"Who said I wanted to be friends?" He repeated again, slowly. This time Hermione couldn't help herself to meet Draco's gaze. He was leaning forward, which panicked Hermione to no end! But surprisingly, he reached for the walkman in her lap and was looking at it curiously. Hermione took the earphones and surprised him by putting it on his ears. He was absolutely astonished by how the little device was singing into his ear. He could not hear the crickets singing in the night, or the hooting of the owls, it panicked him a bit, because he couldn't even hear himself think. Why did she like something like this?

After sometime, Draco could see why. For some time, there was no one else but he and the night and the song. Maybe Hermione was the kind of person who enjoyed such things. Maybe Hermione was one of those rare girls who were interested inlife, not just the shallow pursuits involved in it.

He heard a muffle noise, Hermione's voice, he guessed, say something. He took off the earphones and said, "What?"

"I said, you should smile more often. You look nice." She said. Draco was surprised at her comment. He didn't even realize he had been smiling.

"Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world; it's hard to get by, just upon a smile." She sang, surprising him further, her voice clear in the silent listening night and chuckled in the end.

"So smile more often, Draco Malfoy"

He took the walkman and leaning towards her, he placed it in her hands, which lay limp in her lap. Hermione turned her head to smile at Malfoy when she felt something soft on her cheeks. Malfoy had kissed her on the cheek and he was getting off the railing where she sat frozen trying to process the event that had unfolded. Her shock slowly subsided and she turned quickly to check if he had left. But he was standing right behind her; startled, she was about to fall when his strong hands captured her shoulders and steadied her.

"Thanks, Malfoy." She said, as he helped her get off of the railing.

"My name is Draco."

She looked up to make sure she hadn't heard wrongly. Did Malfoy want her to call him by his first name?

"Want a blood traitor calling you from your first name, do you Malfoy? You shouldn't fraternize with such people." She said in a light tone, but the bitterness in her words could not be concealed.

"I don't see why you're so pro-muggle?"

"Why areyouso anti-muggle? I mean, they are awesome. We have all this magic at our use to aid our health problems and help secure rights and solve crimes but they have their own intelligence and each other to depend on and look what a wonderful job they have done." She said holding up the walkman.

"A stupid muggle device?" He mocked, looking away, feeling a little uncomfortable under her judgemental gaze.

"Yes! A muggle device made without any magic plus the songs. They are so hopeful and honest and so are majority of the muggles. They are so much better thanthese phonies." She said nodding her head towards the ball room where the party was held. Draco's gaze immediately went to his parents who were speaking with Blaise's mother and her new husband.

"What I am trying to say is-"

"You can bore me all about muggles tomorrow." Draco suddenly said surprising Hermione. His frowns and knotted eyebrows were at ease. He had a determined look on his face.

"Tomorrow? What's tomorrow? School doesn't start until after the next two weeks!" she had said, confused, wondering whether she misread the letter from Hogwarts confirming her admission.

"But I am taking you to lunch tomorrow." He wasn't asking.

"What? No!"Hermione protested to which Draco said, "Brunch then? Or a late night rendezvous?" His eyes gleaming with mischief which made Hermione grimace and roll her eyes.

"Fine, whatever. Tomorrow." She said suppressing her smile successfully.

"Noon." He said, leaving, but not before he kissed Hermione's cheek again making her blush. As soon as he left, Hermione chided herself for giving in to his charms. She would be one of those silly girls the infamous Draco Malfoy had bed. Her mother didn't let her use the owl to inform Malfoy, no, Draco, No,MALFOY, she scolded herself, that she had no intention of coming tomorrow. Her mother said it was far too late and it would seem quite indecent for a girl to send an Owl so late, at which Hermione couldn't help roll her eyes. But there was a part of her who didn't want to thwart the 'date'...Was it? She wanted to know Draco Malfoy. The real Draco Malfoy. He didn't seem so bad...

As Hermione finished reminiscing, she realized how accurate Draco had been. She had behaved like a silly kid who had romanticized the whole idea of getting to know the 'bad boy' and now she was deep in the devil's snare.

"Draco, I'm sorry." She said, as she grabbed her wand in her pocket.

"You're leaving too." He said flatly. His voice and face devoid of all emotion.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was quiet and so were her insides. She couldn't feel her insides anymore.

"Now that I've lost everything to you. You say you want to start something new. And it's breaking my heart you're leaving. Baby I'm grieving. But, if you wanna leave take good care. Hope you have a lot of nice things to wear. And a lot of nice things turn bad out there.Oh baby, baby, it's a wild world. It's hard to get by just upon a smile. Oh baby, baby, it's a wild world I'll always remember you like a child, girl" He said softly, while Hermione looked at him dumbstruck. He remembered...the lyrics...of the song she had sung...but that had been only one line. Did that mean Draco had searched for that song and learned the lyrics? She could feel the hot wet tears rolling down her cheeks. For a minute she forgot why she was causing so much pain to herself and to Draco. Why she was doing all this? Was she some sick sadomasochist? But then slowly and painfully, reason seeped in. The dark mark, the crazy Draco she couldn't handle but loved crazily. She hadn't even told how much she loved him. But telling him now seemed crazy. Telling him now would only make it worse and it wouldn't help him or her.

And this also meant that Draco was letting her go.

She couldn't believe that. A part of her felt relieved but a big part of her was shocked. Am I not worth fighting for?A stupid vain part of her asked. She muffled the silly vain voice and steeled herself to leave, but not before wrapping her arms around Draco's torso. She felt his hands on her shoulder for a second before they ripped her body off of his'.

She was shocked at the aggression but she didn't get much time to respond as she felt his lips crash on hers.

This is goodbye,it said.

A/N- Hi ! This is my first DRAMIONE FANFICTION so please be kind in your comments! I would love suggestions! And PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! Tell me how you find the story so far!