Yo. So erm, I'm a recent Dramione convert and I just wanted to try a hand at a Dramione Fanfiction. Any kind of feedback would be appreciated - even just a note to say you'd taken a look! I don't know whether to continue it - that rests on whether I get any reviews. Thankyou if you do read it3

Chapter one - The Beginning

She rounded the corner quickly and then just stood, frozen in shock and horror as she came face to face with the worst person for the situation. "Ah. What do we have here? A dirty little Mudblood wandering the corridors after hours." Malfoy's cold voice was cruel and patronizing, but Hermione didn't even care enough to deliver a sharp comeback. She didn't bristle at his insult. She just had to get to the deserted girls' bathrooms, where the only person who knew about her was Moaning Murtle. She understood Hermione's sadness, and left her alone when she needed to be. "Malfoy, please can you just let me go, this once?" She whispered, deflated and not willing to argue.

Draco was puzzled, and disappointed. He enjoyed tormenting this girl, enjoyed their verbal sparring. This was the first night he'd caught her at night though, and he wasn't about to let her get away with breaking the rules. He was a prefect, and if he had to express his higher power over anyone, it would be the Mudblood. "I don't think so. Tell me where you were off to in such a hurry." He demanded, and her brown eyes glanced up at his icy ones for a second, and then looked away. "I just had to— I mean; I needed to go to the abandoned girls' bathrooms."

He raised his eyebrow quizzically, sneering slightly. "And why is that? It wouldn't be a secret rendezvous with a boy would it, Granger?" He chuckled cruelly as she opened her mouth and shook his head before she could respond. "But it obviously wouldn't be. You're not popular enough for that to be one of your evening activities." He sniffed disdainfully and then rolled his eyes, frustrated by her lack of response to any of his jibes. He gritted his teeth, adding another snide remark. "Or pretty enough."

The right corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. He scowled, though it wasn't at Hermione, but at himself. The twitch happened every time he lied, and if it was trying to tell him he found the Mudblood attractive... He mentally slapped himself. Figuring he could injure her house if not her feelings, he rearranged his confused features back to a cold expression. "I'll inform Professor McGonagall and ensure she takes points. Go back to your dorms immediately." She looked up, eyes burning with an urgency that made Draco want to step back.

She looked like she was going to argue, but her breath shuddered out and she slumped in her entirety, pricking Draco's curiosity even more. "I said go!" He repeated harshly, and she turned without a word. Hermione could feel it boiling and burning through every millimetre of her veins and arteries. She could feel it in her mind, the dark, smothering canvas of it stretching over every fibre of her being. She bit her lip against a sob and clenched her fists, digging her nails into her palms. It was consuming her, and she couldn't do anything about it.

Draco felt a drop of concern slide down his spine and a flicker of annoyance at feeling anything for the pathetic, dirty blooded girl. His lip curled in disgust as he remembered her lineage. He opened his mouth again, his tongue sharper than ever – but before anything could come out she had taken off, running as though her life depended on it. As he watched her go he made a vow to himself. He didn't care what it took; he was going to find out what was wrong with Granger.