Chapter One

Creator's Notes: This is a story of two young people recovering from the scars left by a great war. The two's pasts are more intertwined than it may seem on the surface. I hope you enjoy this one everyone! From the P.O.V of both Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy. Let the reading begin! Review please as always, happy reading.

Once again all credit goes to JK Rowling for her beautiful creations.

Also rated M for upcoming language and sexual implications. Readers beware.

Draco

Draco was a Malfoy. He was a pure blooded wizard in a world where that didn't mean as much as it should've. He walked alongside witches and wizards with Muggle blood flooding through their systems and they were seemingly happy. Draco Lucius Malfoy was not happy. His family had become figureheads within the Magical Community. The Malfoys were cowards, snakes in the grass. At the end of the War the Malfoys had fled from Voldemort and were thus exempt from punishment from the Ministry of Magic. They were allowed to stay in their home as it was thoroughly torn apart by the Ministry to ensure that there was nothing illegal within their possession that constituted Dark Magic. This, unfortunately for Lucius and Narcissa was most of the collection of valuables they had established over the years.

The Malfoys had fallen and Draco was one of the few to hit the hardest. He had shamed his family and they treated him as such. He had departed for Hogwarts with a light sob from his mother and a thundering silence from his father. Climbing into a cab he was alone when he entered Platform 9 ¾ for the upcoming school year.

The year had gone on without incident, something Draco couldn't remember happening in all of that time that he had attended there. And now Christmas vacation was upon the castle. Snow was falling softly outside and in. So here Draco stood, wrapped tightly in his cloak in the snow watching his classmates leave for their holiday. His holiday would be spent within the unjudging eyes of the castle walls away from the scorn that he had felt from the majority of his fellow students. The youngest Malfoy was ready to have a break from the passed judgment that has hung over him since the war. What a nice holiday it will be.

Hermione

Hermione Granger had turned down the Weasley's invitation to spend Christmas at the Burrow with the Weasleys plus one. Harry Potter was more than happy to escape to his surrogate families' for a small vacation. Hermione however felt better staying at Hogwarts for her Christmas vacation. Her first Christmas without her parents and she couldn't imagine spending it anywhere else beside her home away from home, Hogwarts. The Golden Trio had returned to Hogwarts when it reopened for the school year to complete their schooling so they could return to some form of normality. The three had stayed at the Burrow with the Weasley's where Hermione and Harry were adopted, symbolically and realistically. Without her parents Molly and Arthur had stepped into the role quite easily as they already had with Harry.

Hermione was feeling smothered, she simply wanted to return to her reading but no one in the Weasley household seemed to hold any value in her books. The house had been veiled in sorrow over Fred's death and George was rarely seen at home. He threw his depression into running his business and because of his drive, the shop was really thriving. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was quickly gaining fame, and shop patrons were often shocked to see magical hologram of Fred walking around. Some nights when Hermione climbed the stairs of that magical shop she could hear the two boys arguing back and forth. Living versus hologram. George hadn't let go and Hermione didn't think he ever would.

Harry spent his days laughing alongside Ginny (though Molly and Arthur did their best to keep the two apart) and riding his broomstick out in the yard, spending hours in the open sky without a thought of the world below. Hermione would often check outside of her bedroom window to ensure he was still there. She felt like she was going to look out there one day and Harry Potter would be gone. He hadn't disappeared yet and she tried to calm her nerves. She was being silly.

Ron had grown. Hermione often woke in the middle of the night, climbing the stairs of the Burrow softly to not wake anyone while on her mission of making herself a cup of tea. She usually found Ron sitting at the kitchen table, a cold cup of tea waiting in his hands completely untouched. He was staring off in the distance and didn't acknowledge her till she took the cup from his hands to make him a fresh cup. He never drank the tea; he merely let the tea sit in his hands so he could soak up the heat. Tea in the middle of the night made his stomach hurt, he would often mutter to her. They did not become the couple that everyone had imagined they would. Nothing had changed between them from the friendship they had spent so long growing together, some hand holding and stolen kisses were the only changes.

Hermione gave Harry a long hug, and tucked some of his long hair behind his ear the way a mother would do. Ron waited impatiently and gave her a soft hug and kiss. They were on their way home on the Hogwarts train for the Holidays and with one last assurance that she didn't want to join them they were off. Hermione watched them go for a minute before pulling her cloak tighter and turning to rush back inside of the castle. She wanted to get back to her books; they had been waiting for her full attention for some time.