Author's Note: So this is a story that I decided to start writing because I am a very hard Dramione shipper and also because Draco Malfoy is my absolute favourite Harry Potter character ever. So after writing this, I thought why not publish it. I am at University, and whilst I have a few chapters already written, I can't promise constant updates. I am going on break after this week, and I'll be off for a month for holidays. I will try to get as much writing done as I can, and honestly, that should be a lot because all I ever do is write. But Please, leave comments and reviews, I love to know what people think of my work, whether it be positive or negative. But even if you just read, that is fine, too. I appreciate that you found my story and have decided to indulge in it.
Okay, I've said enough, and I'll let you get started with A Smart Pairing.
Draco Malfoy sat in one of the compartments on the Hogwarts Express, on his way to his fifth year of academics at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He leaned his head on his hand, elbow propped up on the table. Letting out a deep breath, his friend, Pansy Parkinson, sat down across from him with Blaise Zabini next to her.
"What is it? You seem off." She asked, but Malfoy shook his head.
"It's...it's nothing." He muttered, his eyes wandering out into the corridor. He sat up a bit when he saw the girl walking down.
Her perfect smile, beautiful brown eyes, and lovely light brown hair. He watched as she walked past, his head turning to follow her. She was so beautiful. Smart, too. The smartest girl in the school.
In their first year, when he had first met her, he discovered that she was as brilliant as they come. They hadn't exactly started off on the right foot, though. But in second year, he had called her that name...that horrid name. Mudblood. He had said it with so much hate, so many times.
But then as the year dragged on, he had realized that he regretted it more than anything. He didn't know how he came to that conclusion, but at the end of the year when he saw her get on the train, she never left his mind. And over the summer as well. And every year since then. Every night he would lay back, close his eyes, and the first thing he would see was Hermione Granger.
Draco shook himself back, then dropped his head into his hands with a groan. "Dammit..." He muttered, and Blaise rose his eyebrow.
"What is it, mate?" He wondered, reaching out his hand, but Draco stood up quickly, shaking his head.
"I...I need to do something. I...I'll be back soon." He said, and the two other Slytherins looked at each other, then back up to Draco.
Blaise nodded. "Sure...We'll be here." He confirmed, and Draco nodded. Turning around, he turned down the corridor, pushing past people as he kept his head straight on his plan.
Hermione Granger turned into one of the empty compartments in the train, sighing as she pulled a book from her bag, opening it to where her mark was, about fifty pages in. She sat back, a slight smile crossing her face, then a throat cleared made her look up.
Her eyes widened when she saw the tall blonde staring at her, his grey eyes meeting hers. He sported a nervous frown, then bit his lip.
"Granger...I...how are you?" He asked slowly, making Hermione's curiosity grow, as did her suspicion. Draco Malfoy was being nice to her? She closed her book, then took a breath.
"Malfoy. I'm well, thank you. How was your summer?" She asked, and Draco shrugged, slipping up on his words.
"It was...I mean...I didn't really...It was fine, I guess." He finally stated, and Hermione's look of confusion intensified, then she cocked her head.
"What...what are you doing here?" She asked, and before Draco could stop himself the witty retort came forth.
"Well, I go to school here same as you."
His heart stopped as he realized just how harsh he had said it, and his chest grew tight as Hermione narrowed her eyes.
"Why are you bothering me, Malfoy? Don't you have your own little plans to hatch up with your friends?" She quipped, and Draco opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione whipped out her wand, flicked it, and the door slid shut, the lock clicking. Immediately she buried her nose back in her book, not looking up again.
Draco stood there for a moment as more people pushed past him, thinking nothing of the boy. Draco gritted his teeth, then he slammed his fist against the wall of the corridor.
"Bollocks!" He growled, making a few of the younger students' eyes widen, and some of the older ones, his own year, staring at him with curiosity and caution.
Draco spun around and stalked back towards his own seat, where he unceremoniously fell back with a huff, staring out the window angrily.
Blaise raised his eyebrow. "Draco, are you okay-"
Draco's eyes bore into him with fire as he glared. "Shut up, Blaise." He growled, making both Blaise and Pansy's eyes go wide. He turned to stare back out the window, silently cursing at himself for making such a foolish mistake.
The rest of the train ride was quiet for both of them, but Hermione couldn't focus. She, only moments after Malfoy had left her car, had put down her book and sighed. She frowned, thankful that neither Harry nor Ron were here to see her in a state of such confusion.
She was surprised that Malfoy had actually confronted her. He had seemed so nice about it too. Almost as if he had wanted to have a civil conversation at first. But then that witty smart ass of his resurfaced, and she had turned him out.
But there was one thing that she could not erase from her thoughts. His eyes. They were beautifully grey, like a storm cloud, and they were sincere. She had never seen them so kind in the five years she had known him. He also seemed nervous, and as soon as he had made that retort, he seemed to have regretted it.
Was he really trying to be nice to her?
Hermione shook her head, opening her book again, but as she looked at the page, she began to see the word "Malfoy" spotting the pages. She squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head.
'Get it together, Hermione.' She told herself, but all she could picture was that smug grin and those grey eyes and that blonde hair.
Draco Malfoy. Something was different about him this year... And she liked it.
When the train reached the station, Draco stood up, brushing his hair back with his fingers. Letting out a deep breath, he walked down the corridor then stepped down to the platform, glancing to the side. Then he froze when he saw her walking, alone, down towards the carriages.
Biting his lip, he glanced behind him, then ran down towards her, hearing Blaise and Pansy's shouts behind him. He ignored them. Catching up to her, he turned down the path where the carriages were boarded and saw her standing alone, looking down at a book. He took a deep breath, then slowly walked over.
"Granger?"
She spun around so fast, eyes wide, that Draco stumbled back a bit, throwing his hands up in surrender. Hermione then let her shoulders drop, her eyes turning irritated.
"Malfoy. What do you want?" She asked coldly, and Draco opened his mouth to say something, then bit his lip. Rubbing the back of his head, he glanced at the carriage pulling up. He took a breath, then met Hermione's eyes.
"May I...may I join you?" He asked slowly, and Hermione's eyebrow raised, her eyes softening, then she sighed.
"If you must."
The two got into the carriage, and Draco looked behind to see if his friends were there to arouse suspicion, but thankfully they weren't in view. He turned his head back to Hermione, who had already reopened her book.
Draco frowned, then leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Granger."
Hermione looked up, not raising her head, her eyes growing more impatient. "What?" She asked in a rather unfriendly tone. Draco met her eye, shaking his head.
"I'm sorry about what I said on the train. I didn't mean for it to come off so harsh." He apologised, and Hermione's eyes went wide. She immediately closed her book and gave Draco a curious stare.
"You're apologising? You?!" She exclaimed, and Draco threw his hands up in the air, falling back against the railing with a hard sigh.
"Why is it that when I try to be kind people do that?!" He groaned, and Hermione frowned, biting her lip. She leaned forward a little.
"Malfoy, I...I didn't mean it like that," she started, but Draco scoffed, shaking his head.
"Yes, you did. No one trusts me. No one takes me seriously." He then turned his head aside. "But who could blame them, huh?" He muttered.
Hermione stared at him curiously. She had never seen this side of Draco Malfoy before. He seemed...pained, confused. Like he didn't know what was what. And he had tried to be...kind? Hermione shook her head, then leaned forward again.
"Malfoy, I'm sorry that I came off like that. It's just..." She hesitated, then Draco sat back up.
"I haven't exactly been kind to you or your friends in the past, so you're sceptical." He finished, nodding. "Yeah. I get it." He said sadly, but then he shook his head. "I just...I want to try to actually step away from my family's name, you know? Not be branded as a cruel, dignified prat for once. Just once I'd like to have someone look at me and not see me as a Malfoy. But as Draco. A different boy." He muttered quietly, and Hermione stared at him with wide, sympathetic eyes.
"Malfoy... I never knew you felt that way. You just always acted like such an insufferable git that I didn't really know what else to expect." She softly said, and Draco looked up with a sigh.
"Granger, I just want to have a normal school year, one where I don't hang around bullying people, one where I'm not seen as a twat, and one where I can just be me." He voiced, and Hermione sat forward.
She put her hand on Draco's knee, meeting his eyes. "There's no one stopping you from doing that, Malfoy." She stated, and Malfoy just stared at her, then his lips curled up in a grin.
He bit his lip, then dropped his head a bit. "Listen. Can...can we maybe...I mean, do you think... I...I just want to say..." He stuttered, and Hermione raised her eyebrow, then the carriage stopped, the two looking up to see Hogwarts looming above them. Hermione caught Draco's gaze one last time, then hopped out of the carriage.
"Goodbye, Malfoy. I hope to see you at the feast." She said, and Draco jumped out, reaching after her, about to open his mouth to say something, but Hermione was already walking off. He let out a deep breath, shoulders dropping as he fell back against the carriage.
"Damn..." He watched as she walked away, then sighed sadly. "I just want to say... I love you..."
In the Great Hall at the Slytherin table sat Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson, not eating but instead looking around. They were both thinking the same thing; where their best friend was. Draco hadn't immediately come to the Feast, and they hadn't seen him since he ran off from the platform.
Blaise shook his head. "Pans, I don't like this. It's not like him to just not show up. Especially to the feast. And the way he was acting earlier?" He said, and Pansy nodded, leaning her chin on her hand, elbow propped on the table.
"I know. But I have a feeling he's okay. He's Draco, Blaise. He can take care of himself." She pointed out. Just as she said those words, she looked up to see the pale, blonde-haired boy walking into the Hall, shoulders drooped and sad, not his usual stuck up and proud manner. He slowly walked over, then slid quietly into the bench, leaning his arm on the table and sighing. He never met his friends' eyes, just stared down at the ring on his hand.
Blaise leaned forward, touching Draco's shoulder lightly. "Mate, are you okay?" He asked softly. "You haven't really seemed like yourself today. Not on the train and not now. What's going on?"
Draco shook his head, still not meeting his friend's eyes. "Nothing, Blaise. I'm...I'm fine." He murmured, then turned away.
Draco slowly lifted his head, staring over at the Gryffindor table, searching. He immediately picked out those beautiful brown locks and the girl they belonged to. She sat with Potter and Weaselby, laughing. Draco's throat closed up, then he shut his eyes, shaking his head.
He had to tell her. He had to tell her at some point. Keeping it in? It was killing him. He couldn't repress those feelings much longer.
The only problem was, how was he going to tell her that he loved her?
After the Great Feast was over, Draco immediately went back to the Slytherin common room, walking up to his dorm. Letting out a deep sigh as he shrugged his robes off and hung them on the hook next to his post, he sat down on the edge of his bed, tugging at his tie to loosen it. Closing his eyes, he leaned his arms on his legs, hanging his head.
What was he doing? He was in love with Hermione Granger! But how could she ever love him? All the times he had mistreated her, called her names...
He flinched as he remembered one specific name that had constantly seemed to resonate from his mouth towards her. Mudblood.
The stab of pain hit him as he knew how foul that term was. He had learned it from his father at a young age, and he saw now just how wrong it was that he had used it at the age of twelve, let alone at all. He had been brought up in such a way that it was almost drilled into his brain to be a right foul git. And at this point, he couldn't blame a single person for thinking that of him. He just wished that he could change it all.
Rubbing his face with his hands, he put his palms on the back of his head as it hung down, elbows on his knees.
"Are you alright, mate?"
The voice made him startle so much that when he jolted up he whacked his head into the post of his bed. He fell back, groaning, tenderly rubbing his head. Blaise stood with wide eyes.
"Damn! Sorry, mate!" He sat down across from Draco, biting his lip. He looked at Draco, still laid back on his bed, now staring up at the curtains with a blank expression. Blaise frowned and leaned forward.
"Draco, what is it? And I swear, if you say 'nothing' again, I'll throw you out onto the Quidditch pitch to use as Bludger practice." He threatened, and Draco let out a loud sigh, then propped himself up on his elbows.
"I'm just...I'm tired of being seen as the bad guy, Blaise. Every year, everywhere, everyone always sees me, a Malfoy, as a pretentious self-righteous git. I hate it!" He exclaimed, then he shook his head. "I just want to have one year, one year, where I can be seen as someone other than who I'm expected to be."
Blaise raised his eyebrow. "Who you're expected to be?..."
Draco groaned. "A Malfoy." Shaking his head, he fell back with a hard breath. "I don't want to be branded with that name anymore. All it's done for me in the past is give me an absolutely horrid reputation, and honestly, how my father raised me, it turned me into a right bloody twat, didn't it?" He remarked, and before Blaise could react, Draco went on.
"I...I was raised under the impression that anyone who doesn't come from a pureblood family is less worthy, or not at all worthy, to be a wizard. That they were scum. And anyone who wasn't exactly like my family, a rich and well sophisticated and dignified line, they were also lesser beings. So since first year, I always beat up on anyone like that, but especially Potter, Weaselby and Granger. They seemed to get the brunt of it all." He muttered, and Blaise then looked confused.
"But...but you hate those three. You hate all Gryffindors-"
"But do I really, Blaise?! I don't think I do! I think that it might just be my father's ideals rubbing off on me!" He shouted, pushing himself up to a sitting position. His eyes were full of emotion, some anger and some pain, confusion and suffering.
His friend just stared at him silently for a moment, then shook his head slowly. "Draco, where is this coming from?" He asked, but Draco shook his head.
"N...Never mind that. I just want to ask you: Do you really think that we should be treating them the way we are?" He wondered, then he met Blaise's eyes seriously. "Be. Truthful." He ordered.
Blaise just sat there for a moment, unsure of what even to say. Then he really started to think about it, and Draco watched as his expression slowly turned to that of guilt and angst.
"I...no. No, we shouldn't." He finally let out, and Draco nodded solemnly. Blaise then frowned, glancing to the side.
"But..." He raised his gaze. "Why are you thinking about this now? Our fifth year has just started, and you already have some sort of crisis going on in your head." He stated, then Draco's eyes grew angered.
"First off, it's not some sort of 'crisis'! And secondly, I told you that it doesn't matter why I'm thinking about it! Just drop it!" He shouted, turning around to lay down on his bed, facing away from Blaise.
"Just...go back to the common room. I'm going to bed." He stated harshly. A tense silence followed, then Draco heard footsteps leaving the room, then the door slam behind them. He closed his eyes as he pulled the blanket close, gripping it tight as he felt tears in his eyes.
No one could ever know about his feelings for Hermione. What if his father ever found out? And what would the Slytherins think of him if Blaise told them how Draco thought that it was wrong to act this way. He had no answers and no idea what this year would bring. But just from this first day, he could tell that it was going to be a rough start.
With that troubling thought floating in his head, he managed to drift off into an uneasy and restless sleep.