Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Sadly:(

Where Black and White Collide

1. Alizarin Crimson

...

Everyone has their own weakness. Whether that weakness is something that scares them to death or something that brings about a sad memory is not important. What is important, in my opinion, is that there is no person in the world without a flaw, without a weakness.

I have always believed that weaknesses are not something that you should be ashamed of. I thought that admitting your weakness to everyone was the first step of overcoming it and overcoming a weakness meant progress and growth of oneself. Weaknesses were, therefore, like the dramatic years of adolescence, when a child goes through puberty. The process was long and difficult, but the result was outstanding: a better self.

It was amazing how everyone around me had grown to accept and realize their own weakness, telling those dark secrets to their friends and wanting to be consoled. It was amazing to watch my friends become "better" by those small talks and I was grateful to help them at all times. I could easily come up with a simple conclusion that admitting a weakness was something that required bravery. The bravery of Gryffindor.

But, sadly, I have to admit that I do not have that bravery. I have concealed my deepest weakness within me, not telling a soul to anyone, only thinking about it when I was alone in bed or perhaps in the bathroom.

Maybe, I wasn't brave after all.

Maybe, I just don't have the bravery in me. Maybe, I don't have the Gryffindor in me. Maybe the Sorting Hat made a mistake to put me in Gryffindor, when I was supposed to be in some other house- like Slytherin perhaps.

The house of Slytherin, where my deepest weakness is hidden.

"Hermione!" Harry yelled, with his small book bag hanging in an awkward position on his shoulder. Ron was by his side, as usual. "We have to hurry! We're going to be late for class!"

"Okay, just wait for me a bit. I have to find my paper!" Hermione yelled back at him.

Right now, Hermione Granger, a 6th grade student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was doomed. Doomed to hell, to be exact.

While chewing on her red, swollen lips, she frantically flipped over her tidied bed covers, threw her pillow over to the side, went down on her knees to look under the bed. She then ran over to the common room and to the small desk that she usually used and did the same thing- look under the desk, the chairs, and every single furniture that she thought she had used the night prior.

Gone. It was just gone.

Her Defense Against the Dark Arts assignment.

Poof.

She had worked so hard on that certain assignment, writing four more pages of parchment than assigned, as she spent hours and hours in the library looking for books that might help her. She had put her best efforts on the paper, on that specific potions assignment, but it simply disappeared.

Poof.

Hermione had remembered that she put the paper inside her book bag. Yes, that was right. She had put the paper inside her book bag. But, this morning, when she woke up, the paper was gone. It was simply not there.

"Hermione!" Harry shouted again. "Are you done there yet? We're really running out of time, you see."

"Oh shit..." Hermione murmured to herself, as she busily worked with the small table next to her bed. "You guys can go ahead, I really have to find my assignment first." She shouted out to boys.

"Really?" Harry asked her from the common room. "Are you sure you're not going to come right now? If you're late Snape would get extremely mad."

"It's okay. Just go ahead. I know it's here somewhere." Hermione replied back, while she looked under her bed once again.

"Well... See you at class, Hermione." Harry replied as he made his way out the door.

"Bye, 'Mione." It was Ron this time. A few seconds later, Hermione heard the portrait close with a soft thud. As soon as she realized that she was alone in the Gryffindor dormitory, she felt the frustration and anger creeping up on her.

'Why on earth did I write that on my assignment!' She thought to herself. 'How could I be so... careless! Why didn't I just flip the parchment before writing my bloody potions assignment there?'

Hermione heaved a sigh and sat down on the hard, carpeted floor.

'I bet the parchment has my name on it.' She thought.

"Oh god... I am doomed to hell!" She then shouted, on the top of her lungs.

"Mr. Potter, may I ask you where your friend Ms. Granger is?" Snape asked viciously.

"Um... She... She's probably in her room right now, Professor." Harry started.

"Because... she was sick." Ron quickly added.

"Right! She was so sick, a headache probably." Harry answered as he felt his glasses slowly sliding down his nose.

"She was too tired to move an inch, so obviously, she couldn't go to Madam Pomfrey. Sad, really." Ron said while fidgeting in his seat.

"I never asked anything to you, Mr. Weasley. Ten points from Gryffindor for speaking without permission." Snape barked at the two, eyeing them suspiciously. But, gladly, he didn't say anything else.

"Good thing it's just ten points, isn't it Harry? I was actually expecting about fifty to be lost when 'Mione couldn't make it." Ron quickly whispered into Harry's ear.

"Silence, Mr. Weasley!" Snape hollered, smacking Ron's head with the thick potions textbook. "Another ten points from Gryffindor." The whole class groaned at Snape's quick remarks.

"Slimey git, that Snape, if you ask me."

A few minutes later, the door of the classroom swung open and in entered a certain Hermione Granger who wasn't in her best mood.

"Ms. Granger, could you please tell us why you were late for class?" Snape asked her immediately, with his huge dark cape falling on his side. Harry and Ron was giving her horrified looks, scared of what she would say.

"I was um... My head hurt so much, Professor. I am extremely sorry, it won't happen again." Hermione quickly answered. As soon as she sat down next to her friends, she could easily point out the smug expressions that they were putting on their faces.

"Blimey, Hermione. Six years of friendship and you're starting to read our minds." Ron whispered into Hermione's ear.

"Silence, Mr. Weasley!" Snape shouted from the front of the class again.

"So, tell me Hermione. Why were you late for class? I mean, you aren't exactly the person who would make a mistake." Ron said to Hermione playfully.

"Just drop it, Ron." Hermione scowled at him. Her day wasn't going that well- she wanted to be alone.

"I am quite curious, Hermione. You know how great I am with keeping secrets." Ron continued to joke around. "Really, though, I still can't believe it. Hermione Granger, late for class? Impossible, if you ask me."

"I said, shut up Ron!" Hermione frowned at him.

"What? I-" But before Hermione could hear what Ron was going to tell her, she walked away from the two of her best friends, leaving them in the huge hallway.

"What just happened, Harry?" Ron asked rather timidly.

"I honestly don't know." Harry shrugged.

'God damn it...' Hermione thought to herself, while she walked swiftly towards the lake. She had been taking a walk around the school, to organize her thoughts (which were mostly about the paper that she had lost) in peace- away from, well... away from her friends.

'Why the hell did I lose the parchment?' She continued to think. 'I could have just put it inside my bag or... Uh! This is the worst scenario!'

The weather was wonderful, it truly was. October was a great month, with the great weather, Halloween and so much more, but Hermione didn't have any time to enjoy anything right now. She absolutely had to find the paper, and she had to find it quick before anybody else reads it.

Not a lot of students were at the lake at this time of the day, and that was really why she loved it here. The peace was beautiful. Everything was quiet and she could just sit under a tree and think and think without being interrupted. She heaved a heavy sigh and trudged along the lake, staring at the ground when she saw something familiar in the distance.

Her paper.

Her very parchment that she had written on.

In the hands of... Draco Malfoy?

Hermione frowned immediately and gasped a breath. She continued to glare at him, trying to make out his facial expression while she hid herself behind a bushy tree. She squinted her eyes and gasped another breath when she saw him smirk.

He was smirking while looking at the paper. The so called "Malfoy" smirk.

Then, out of pure instinct, Hermione ran towards him, who was still sitting under a tree while reading the paper, and reached out to grab her paper.

"This is mine, you sneaky git!" Hermione screamed.

"What the fuck, Granger!" Draco leaped up from his seat and quickly hid the paper behind him.

"How dare you steal my DADA assignment, Malfoy! Give it back!" She hollered at the top of her lungs, wishing that he hadn't seen that.

"Your assignment? I have no idea what you're talking about but this thing that you tried to take is strictly mine." Draco glared at Hermione with his piercing grey eyes. "I never stole any of your fucking things, Granger."

"Stop lying you bastard. I know it's mine! Give it back!" Hermione jumped up to reach out for the paper, but sadly their height difference made it close to impossible to do so.

"No! Are you fucking mental? Get the hell away from me, you bitch!" Draco screamed, his eyes full of shock. He quickly gathered up his things from the floor and started to walk away.

"Oh no, don't you dare walk away, Malfoy. I hate your presence surely enough, but I'm not leaving until you give me my paper." Hermione hissed at him. Draco then suddenly turned around, put on a dangerous smirk on his lips (while managing to glare at Hermione). He slowly took out the piece of parchment that he was looking at and started to read it again.

"What part of this fucking piece of paper, are you so interested, Granger?" He asked cockily. "Even though I am pretty sure this is mine-" He flipped the page over.

"No!" Hermione screamed out. She reached out her arms to stop him from reading what would be written on the other side of the parchment.

"How dare you." He growled threateningly. Hermione took a step back immediately and looked over at Draco. He had a finger on his palm, as if he was trying to stop something was coming out, and his look was full of venom. He then took off the finger that he was pressing onto his face and stared at his thumb.

Blood.

A clear speck of red blood was on the tip of finger.

Hermione, startled, stared at the blood that was placed on his thumb and stared up at his face. Not surprisingly, there was an small, but evident scratch on his face. A red scratch. Definitely newly-made.

"How DARE you leave a scratch on me, you Mudblood?" Draco yelled. "How dare you touch me with you filthy hands!"

"It's-It's only a small s-scratch, Malfoy. Just get over it." Hermione yelled back. Her voice was trembling, though.

"Just a small scratch? Is that what you call this, Mudblood?" He seethed. He started to pant deep breaths.

"I mean-" Hermione started.

Just then, Draco took out his wand from his pocket and pointed it at Hermione's neck.

"You wouldn't." Hermione whispered.

...

This is a multi-chaptered fic. The start of the story seemed light, yes, but I can assure you guys that this story is not that "light" and "happy".

The process of Dramione will be slow. And when I say slow, it will be reeally slow. I hate it when Draco and Hermione suddenly fall in love :)

This fic is extremely important to me, so please read the further chapters as well.. Please?:)

Thank you for reading and reviews are always welcome!