Disclaimer – All characters/places/etc of the Harry Potter Universe belong to JK Rowling. However, the character of Athenais Thierry and her family are of my own creation.

He knew what people thought of him. He was Draco Malfoy, the pure blooded prince who constantly held court with his fellow Slytherins. He wasn't respected; he was feared. Feared, or despised and pitied.

He knew that to his fellow Slytherins, he was practically a god. He had long had a gift of charm. He could charm anyone he wanted, and when that didn't work, he knew how to be feared. He manipulated his fellow Slytherins endlessly to his own gains, but they didn't care. They were a generation brought up by Death Eaters. If anything, he would be scorned if he acted honorably

He also knew that to everyone else at Hogwarts, he was considered a slimy little weasel. To them, he was scum. It didn't baffle him, he knew that the prejudices that were forced on him since he was a child had alienated his peers. To these people, he was a monster, unredeemable.

But they didn't know. They didn't understand how it was growing up with Death Eater parents, in a house where "Voldemort" was the most feared name, and where pleasing him was the key to survival.

Draco Malfoy was the bad guy, a prejudiced, manipulating snake... and he didn't care. Let them all think that, it was his armor. And to a certain extent, it was all true. No one took the time out to see the other side of him, the good side. It may be covered with the malicious mask of a sneer, but it existed nonetheless, buried deep within him. No one saw that side of him but her.

He would risk everything to protect her. Not that he had much to risk… his life, his soul. But then again, it wasn't as if he had much of a soul to risk anyway. He had no qualms about risking his life for her. If she wasn't alive, his life wouldn't be worth living anyway. It was the one good thing he had ever done.

She was the one thing that was keeping him from falling off that dangerous precipice; the one thing that kept him from giving in to the evil that surrounded him. Perhaps his worst fault was his attraction to power. If it wasn't for her, it would be too easy to give in. Her innocence inspired him. She had been through a lot, almost as much as he himself, yet somehow she still managed to maintain her hope in good. No matter how cruelly he behaved towards others, he never wanted to see her lose that innocence.

Athenais Thierry. They had grown up together, constantly thrown together by their parents, both children of Death Eaters. At first they despised each other, but over time hey grew to depend upon each other. They were there for one another when he wrath of one of their fathers had boiled over, for both of their fathers were of the same mold: violent, cold, and cruel.

Draco knew that she was reasonably safe away at school in Beauxbatons, but that did not mean that he could drop his well-crafted veneer. No one outside of their own families could ever know what she meant to him, for otherwise she could be in mortal danger. As manipulating as he was, Draco knew that the Dark Lord was far more so.

What the Dark Lord wanted, the Dark Lord got. And he would do anything to get it. Anything that stood in the Dark Lord's way wouldn't stand a chance. No one was safe, and Draco was well aware of the fact that the Malfoy family could be a key to the Dark Lord's success. In an attempt to control them, anything of value would be jeopardized.

So, Draco would go on being hated. He would continue on and behave as he always did, using his father as the prime example. He would do anything, even become a Death Eater to save Athenais.

Authors note: This is a story of Draco Malfoy and Athenias Thierry. Yes, I realize that no such character exists. Well, that is why I created her. Let's be honest with ourselves: Draco and Hermione were never meant to be, and the very idea of pairing them together hardly makes sense. That is why I choose to write about a different, new person.

Also, Draco's state of existence can best be described by the song "Behind Blue Eyes" by The Who.