Draco Malfoy sat in his Transfigurations class wishing it were over. He sighed and blew a small section of his light bangs out of his eyes. He sighed as Crabbe and Goyle entered the room and took seats next to his own. The two of them then began their own little conversation as Malfoy watched Harry Potter, Ron Weasly and Hermione Granger enter the room. The three of them sat down in front of them as class started.

"Are you ready for Quiddich later Potter?" Malfoy asked smugly, it wasn't Harry who turned to answer him, though. It was Hermione.

"I know that Harry and the Gryffindor team will do more than enough to beat Slytherin, Draco." She said haughtily as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. Malfoy sat in stunned silence; she hadn't called him Draco in a long time. He stared at her as she turned back around, no witty remark came to him to say as he sat there slack jawed as Professor McGonagall began the lecture on transforming beetles into barrettes.

Draco sat staring at the back of Hermione's head, he narrowed his eyes as the reason she'd seemed changed popped out at him. Her hair was straight, long, and a golden blonde color that fell to her mid back. Draco watched her as he was reminded of several times the two had met.

He'd first seen her on the train to Hogwarts their first year, she was looking for a frog. She'd stopped by his compartment where he sat alone before he knew Crabbe and Goyle. He looked at her as she entered in and began to search the room.

"What are you doing?" he asked her curiously.

"I'm looking for a toad. His name is Trevor, have you seen him?" she asked, her voice seemed so loving, unlike his mothers. She looked at him with her soft, warm brown eyes and Draco instantly melted.

"N-no…" he stuttered. "But I can help you look if you'd like!"He said as he stood up eagerly. She smiled at that, his heart seemed to stop for a sudden as he remembered how to breathe.

"That would be great!" she told him as she opened to compartment doors. Another boy rushed over, slightly pudgy, with a bit of an overbite and in very torn and tattered robes. Draco held back a laugh at his appearance.

"Did you find him Hermione?" the boy asked worriedly. Draco looked at her, such a soft pretty name, so very fitting.

"No Neville not yet," She told the boy. "This is … I didn't catch your name." she turned to Draco.

"Draco. Draco Malfoy." He told her quickly. Neville's face lit up.

"Oh good, now that we have you to help us look we can find my toad!" he said excitedly. Draco scoffed.

"YOUR toad, I thought it was HER toad! Why would I want to help you? You dress like a slob."

A silence fell over Neville as he mumbled something about looking in another compartment. Hermione turned to Draco, her soft eyes now fierce with anger, Draco gulped.

"Draco Malfoy!" she exclaimed. "How dare you! Thinking that you can pick on people like that. You hurt his feelings! Go apologize!" she commanded him. Draco's face flushed red.

"No, I don't have to listen to you! Who are you anyways? My mother?" he scoffed. "I don't have to apologize to filth like him. You're better than he is anyways. Why are you helping him?"

"Because I care!" Hermione huffed at him as she turned to leave. "Good day Draco!" she slammed the compartment door shut.

Later on he'd heard she'd been placed into Gryffindor, and his heart sank. He knew she deserved better than Slytherin, but he'd really wanted to apologize to her. Now he would never get that chance. As luck would have it, they were placed into the same classes, so he got to see her every day. Yet every day she would hang out with Malfoy's nemesis, Harry Potter even more. So he resorted to taunting her along with Potter and Weasly. He even dared to call her a Mudblood in their second year after he'd figured out she wasn't born into a magical family.

When he'd learned of that his heart sank, any and all hopes of getting her to be his sank with that one fact. His father and mother were pure bred wizards; they expected their son to marry another pure breed like them. They would never approve of him marrying a Mudblood. In Draco's fourth year he brought her up once saying that she was pretty, and interesting. When his father heard he nearly exploded telling Draco that if he said he liked a piece of Mudblood filth he would disown him.

Draco learned very quickly to never bring her up in front of his family ever again.

As the memories flooded to him he continued to watch her. Every time there was a question asked Hermione's hand would shoot into the air, her sleeve falling down past her elbow exposing her light skin. Draco assumed that since she was a girl that it would be very soft to the touch. He gently reached out towards her hair and took a strand gently into his hand. It was soft and light, just like he'd imagined it to feel. He liked her hair straightened, but he also enjoyed the natural curls she had, they bounced as she walked around with her books in her arms clutched tightly to her chest. Draco let go of her hair as he sat back in his seat and stared off into space.

What he wouldn't give to have her all to himself. There were nights that he pictured himself with her, holding her, kissing her. Maybe pushing it further if she'd let him. He smiled to himself, he liked the chase. The chase was just as good as winning the prize, especially if the prize was her. What would he do if she were his though? Oh how he would take her, he would take her every night. Just to see her face filled with the ecstasy and knowing that it was him that was making her feel that way.

The thought caused him some slight discomfort as his pants got tighter. He didn't care; in his mind she was all his and no one else. And to him, that's all that ever mattered. She'd turn to face Ron and tell him something he stared at her face, with her soft, warm brown eyes. How he longed to have her just sit and stare at him with those eyes. That thought brought him back to reality; She wasn't his, at least not now.

His mind went back to a deal that he'd secretly made with Voldemort. Voldemort promised that if Draco could kill Dumbledore, that he could choose any person to be saved from his wrath. Draco quickly told him her name.

"Is she the one you want?" the Dark Lord has asked him. Draco nodded. "So be it." He said as he brandished Draco's arm with the dark mark. He lifted his sleeve and looked at the mark he had been given, and thought about the task ahead. He then looked up at the girl who it was all for, knowing, that in his mind, she was worth it.