~ ~ Hello darling. I am pleased to say that this story came out rather nicely for my first one. Yes, 'tis my first one. A simple "oneshot" as you people on this website call it. As you should know, I do not own the book Harry Potter. Nor do I own the characters Hermione Granger or Draco Malfoy. Hope you enjoy. You may continue if you wish, but if you'd rather not I shall not be offended. ....

For the First Time

"Draco?" came a timid voice, interrupting Draco Malfoy's light sleep. Slowly, he opened his heavy, reluctant eyes and came face to face with his rather small nightstand clock. His brain translated the flashy green numbers quickly. One fifteen in the morning. Who, in Hogwarts name, felt they needed him at one fifteen in the morning!

With all his drowsiness replaced with anger, Malfoy abruptly sat up causing all of his soft platinum blond hair to fall in disorganized patterns in his eyes and about his face. Wildly he looked to the door of his room. It was open and in it's wooden place held none other than Hermione Granger! The mudblood that had made it as Head Girl and whom he was forced to share the Head's living quarters with!

Gray eye's glaring, he pointed a finger toward her. Having every intention of telling her off about waking him form his much-needed slumber and for being in his room. At the beginning of the year, when they had realized that both of them were Head's (and that it wasn't a mistake) Hermione and Draco had come to the agreement that his room was his room and her room was her room. Meaning that one was not to enter the other's room unless of an emergency or if they had permission, considering that they had to share everything else (living quarters, bathroom, ect—) the agreement had worked nicely. Now, because of her, it was broken.

"What do you think—" he started but never finished. One more look at her made his mouth snap closed in shock. The Granger girl stood in his doorway, tears were in the corners of her big dark brown eyes and were now starting to fall. Her usual slightly pinked cheeks that highlighted the rest of her face were now flushed and made her pale skin look whiter than his own. Her always perfect curly hair (which had tamed down insanely this year) was now messy and hung in her tearful eyes.

"Granger? What happened?" Draco asked as gently as he could. He was still slightly annoyed but something was wrong, which was the reason he held back his ranting. No one wants to be scolded when they're already upset, Malfoy knew more than anybody what that felt like, courtesy of his father, Lucius.

"I… I had a-a… a—" Hermione tried so hard to get the sentence out but she was to upset. More warm tears started to leak down her face.

"A what Granger? You had a what?" Draco asked softly. Whether it be Granger, Pansy, or Potter he didn't like tears. Crying was one of the very few things that could make him bend to do anything (which thankfully, Pansy had yet to figure out). He was pretty sure the girl standing in his doorway had no idea either, but never the less she was there… and crying.

"A… I can't! I just-I just—" she cut herself off when she tried to take in a quiet breath but it came out a loud shutter because of her tears.

"Hey, hey, don't do that. Com'mere," Malfoy commanded soothingly. Draco Malfoy? Soothing? Oh Lord Voldemort, see what tears did to him!

Hermione shuffled her feet across the dark green floor carpet and over to were he was. Draco had pushed the covers off himself and now sat on the edge of his bed.

As she looked around on her way farther into the Head Boy's room, she noticed it was quite different from her own. When he had pushed the covers away they revealed silver silk sheets and jungle green pillows. The comforter was green and black striped, the same color black as the bedposts and frame. The black and white checkered curtains were tightly closed, blocking any light from outside and making the room very dark. The closet door and some drawers of his rather large dresser were wide open, but the clothes stacked inside both were neatly folded and put away. Their was an oak wood desk along the side of the room which was almost bare except for an open notebook with a black quill pen on it and a long crisp white envelope which had already been torn apart.

Finally Hermione got to Draco. He looked her over carefully and reached a hand out to her. Feeling a little bit puzzled by his own sweet gesture, though she didn't hesitate to take a light hold of it. Smiling slightly, he pulled her up onto the high bed next to him.

"Now, what's wrong?" Draco asked once again as he looked at her more closely. He finally noticed her attire and came to the conclusion that this—whatever was bothering her—must be really serious. He thought this because, well, for one thing Hermione Granger was not wearing any pants. He only thing that covered her lower half was a pair of ladies black undergarments and knee high socks. Not a bad pair of underwear for a mudblood either! The black material was surrounded by light pink lace and red ribbon, which was tied at both her hips to make bows with their ends hanging slightly down. The socks were pretty much the same story. Black and pretty. As he looked at the socks he also noticed a rather large piece of white gauze bandaging wrapped around the place right above her knee. Silently, he wondered what she could have done to get a wound big enough to need that large piece of heavy gauze.

Hermione had ignored Draco's question. She was still trying to pull herself together well enough to answer it as she watched him. It was strange, seeing him like this, that is. He didn't look like that mean tormenting Draco Malfoy she knew and hated as he sat there in his soft looking black pajama pants with plaid dark blue boxers sticking out of the top of them. Hermione started to wonder why she even could see his boxers when she noticed he had absolutely no shirt on! Then, she was startled from her sightseeing of his toned tummy as he asked her again for what must have been the fifth time!

"Hermione. What is wrong?" he heard himself question for what must have been the bazillionth time!

Granger's face screwed up again. It became noticeably paler, and now that he was close enough, he could see her nostrils flare and her perfect white teeth bore themselves into her full pink bottom lip. Goodness, she'd finally calmed down and now she look as if she were going to break down and cry again! No, no, no! Not more tears! Tears are what made him forget whom he was speaking to, and tears are what had made him pull her to his bed. Tears are what made him want to hug her and tell her it'd be okay!

I a panic, Draco put a hand on Hermione's shoulder and shook his finger at her. "No! Do not cry again. But do tell me what is the matter and we'll try and fix it!" He let his hand fall off her shoulder and down to her lower back. For some reason Pansy liked a hand on her back when she was upset, maybe Granger did too. After all, they were both girls.

"I, uh… had a-a, um…" Hermione stuttered to him quietly.

Draco groaned loudly as he felt the muscles in her back tighten under his hand as she tried to answer. She was never going to tell him if she was so tense! He started to rub his thumb back and forth on the small of her back. Malfoy could feel her spinal cord through her dark colored hooded sweatshirt as he did so. Come to think of it, Granger was rather skinny. But now was not the time to dwell on Hermione's eating habits, so Draco ignored the bone in her back and tried to continue to sooth.

"Come now. It can't be that horrible," he explained in a (tired) but light tone of voice. Why did it have to be him? "Common, what's the matter Granger?"

The silence only lasted a while, and then in a calm but shaky voice she answered him. "I-I had a nightmare…"

Draco raised his blond eyebrows at her and blinked in an unbelieving way. Hermione Jane Granger, Head Girl, smartest student in Hogwarts, friends of the boy-who-lived and the entire Weasel family, was worked up over a… nightmare!

"A…what?" he asked incredulously. Was she pulling his wand as some sort of sick mocking joke toward him? Did she truly know about the problem with tears he had and wanted something from him? Could all this really be about a bad dream?

"Did I stutter?" Hermione snapped moodily.

"N-no. It's just… I've never expected you to get so worked up over something so… small."

"I don't see how this is small," Hermione sniffled quietly. "This seems quite large to me."

"Well, okay," Draco agreed. He suddenly thought that it really wasn't the fact that it was a dream that had chased her into his private sleeping area, but the fact that she had actually come to him when she had it. She was taking a big risk showing up next to him in the state she was. Oh, how he could use this against her. That is if he wanted to. If only he wanted to! "Why don't you tell me about it… Hermione," he suggested. Only adding her first name as an afterthought.

"I-I… can't," Hermione wailed all of a sudden, then she burst into another round of hysterical tears. "I can't Draco! I can't! It was to-to… just to—" She started to bawl. Hard. Her mouth parted open for sobs to escape loudly. Soft whimpers erupted deep in her throat occasionally getting louder. Salted water made puddles on her bare legs as she leaned over with her arms crossed over her stomach. Her hair bobbed and her whole body trembled. It was horrible!

Unsure of what to do, Draco acted on pure instinct. Her grabbed her around the sides and put a hand on the side of her head. Making her move into his chest.

"Shh, it'll be okay Hermione. I'm right here I'm not going anywhere. It will be alright," the Slytherin comforted the Gryffindor.

For once, in all these years that Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry has been open, a Slytherin comforted a Gryffindor. For the first time, since that Slytherin's and Gryffindor's have existed, to people from the two different Houses put aside their differences in one's time of need. And, for the first but not the last time, Draco Malfoy—pureblood, prince of Slytherin, rich boy who was always known for his cruelty toward others—comforted Hermione Granger.

"Shh, Hermione. It'll be alright… it'll be alright."

~ ~ I can honestly say, I am extremely glad that you did choose to read this story 'till the end. I am in a mad rush of writing another one, as I do enjoy it. I see that this was a little "lovey dovy". "Lovey dovy" is not exactly my strong point, but for now it'll do. Farewell, I wave my black laced glove to you. ....