Forgotten. That's what Draco was. No one would ever remember him when they thought of the name Malfoy. He just wasn't special enough. Even his parents, though he loved them very much, ignored him. He knew that deep down they vaguely remembered him, but he was just an insignificant little speck of dirt on the Malfoy tapestry.
Even his friends forgot him. They were too caught up in their own problems to notice his.
Yes, the only people who would remember him were the ones he hated.
Dumbledore, for one, would remember him. Draco wondered why he hated Dumbledore when he had been so kind to him from the start. He scowled in self-pity. Then he straightened himself out. It was degrading to pity yourself. At least he would have some dignity left. After all, he had a job, but it was the bottom rung of the ladder. Well, at least he wasn't the janitor.
Now, who else would remember him?
Ah, the Gryffindor 3. There were only two of them he actually hated, Weasel King and Potty. He had loved Granger from the moment she slapped him. He was looking for a girl with guts and determination, and he had found her. If she would only love him back…
Well, at least he would be remembered.
She would always think he was special. She thought everyone was special. And that comforted him.
Getting back to work was hard. All he wanted to do was feel miserable, but his sense of responsibility was really insistent. He decided to call someone. But who? It's not like he knew how to use the phone. Ever since they were put in, he was thinking of how to use it but never got to it.
"Erm, Malfoy?"
He turned quickly. "Granger?"
"Funny, seeing you at the bottom. What the heck, it's funny seeing myself at the bottom with you."
"What?"
"I said-"
"No, that part about 'with me.' Does that mean-"
"We're partners? Yes. I'm just starting. I used to be a professor but then I got tired of the Slytherins pulling my hair and all those snickers. I seem to be forgotten. I have to start all over again."
"The great Hermione Granger? Forgotten? Welcome to the party."
She ignored him. "So, what are we supposed to do?"
"Well, I guess we just sit here and wait for them to give us an assignment. If they remember us," he added bitterly.
"Then why don't we just make our own assignment?"
"What then?"
"I don't know. Why not organize a Christmas party or something?"
"Fine by me. We need parties right now."
"First we have to tell the others."
"Fine."
"Then we have to-"
"Fine."
"Will you please stop-"
"Fine."
"Gah! Fine!"
"Well, I haven't had an argument this fun with someone like you in a long time. In fact, I haven't met someone like you in a long time."
And so began the start of a strange friendship.