Expectations and Transformations
When Draco Malfoy first met Hermione Granger he was disgusted. A filthy, stuck up mudblood parading around pretending to be perfect. But she would never be a /proper/ witch. For that, you needed to be pureblood. End of story. Half-bloods were acceptable, yes, but Muggle-borns? No way would she ever be good enough for the Wizarding world.
It was for this very reason he found himself being constantly amazed by her, thrown off-balance by almost everything she did. That's the thing about having about having expectations of someone so low that they are almost non-existent; every time they do something right or good you must re-assess and re-evaluate everything you ever thought about them.
That was the reason Draco found it so hard knowing Hermione. He had expected a dull, boring, ugly nerd. What he got was a bookworm with a fiery temper, a brilliant mind, and an uncanny ability to find herself in the middle of trouble. What he got was a geeky-looking girl with big front teeth and overly bushy hair who somehow became an elegant young woman. What he got was the ugly duckling who slowly but surely transformed into a swan. And he didn't know how to handle it.
He bullied and teased her, becoming unbearable as a kind of undeserved punishment for her, because she was unbearable to him. He couldn't stand being in the same room with her because he was afraid she would somehow learn to read his mind, and discover his greatest and most shameful secret; the Slytherin Prince had fallen for the Gryffindor Geek. Because he had. He'd fallen hard.
I know it's only short, but review please? :D
-Badger Xx
