Draco casts the memory charm on Hermione one night to protect her from Voldemort and Hermione forgets all about him and everything they had. Almost. Please review :)

"Hermione, I'm so sorry, I love you, but I have to do this, I have to protect you."

"Draco, what do you mean?"

"Obliviate."

Hermione woke up the next day, feeling groggier than ever. Something just didn't seem right. She already felt like a part of her was missing. Try as she might, she couldn't locate that missing part. Hermione felt light-headed, and even a little sad. Strange..she thought to herself as she made her way to the great hall for breakfast in the company of her best friends, Harry and Ron.

"Any disappearances in the Daily Prophet today?" Ron asked, as he chewed his way through his fourth sausage. Hermione scanned the page, "None that we know of," she replied. She glanced up, she had the eerie feeling that she was being watched. And just in time too, for she made eye contact with a Slytherin boy who had been obviously staring at her. His hair was golden and silky, his face pale and pointed, he was very handsome really, the kind that girls swooned over. He seemed like the type of person that had it good in life. So why was it that his eyes were red and swollen, a giveaway that he had been crying? Hermione thought to herself. The boy was staring at her like he knew her, he just couldn't take his eyes off her. Hermione had the strangest feeling that they had met before, but a sudden realisation dawned on her. She didn't even know his name.

"Harry, who's that?" Hermione asked in a would-be-casual tone, pointing in the boy's direction. Harry stared at her in disbelief. "Surely you know him? We have had potions class with him for the last five years, he's Draco Malfoy!" Deciding it would be better to act like she knew who Draco was, she just nodded her head and continued with her breakfast.

It was double potions with the Slytherins after breakfast, a lesson which all Gryffindors dreaded, Hermione included, since Snape, the potions master was well-known for favouring the Slytherins over the Gryffindors and loved to pick on the Gryffindors.

Snape set them the task of brewing a babbling potion, and started his rounds around the class, taking a vindictive pleasure in breathing down Neville's neck while making nasty comments about his potion. Snape was coming Hermione's way, and even though she was normally very good at potions, her potion was still a bright acid green, even though it was supposed to be sky blue by then. She glanced around, distraught. If there was anything Hermione hated, it was Snape making horrible comments about her potions.

"Stir three times clockwise, then six times anti-clockwise." A quiet voice from Hermione's right made her jump. There was only that boy...Draco on her right, and she could have sworn he had said that, but he was staring into his cauldron, quite determinedly avoiding her eyes now. Hermione was suspicious, after all Slytherins helping Gryffindors and Gryffindors helping Slytherins was virtually unheard of, but taking advice from a Slytherin was her last option now. Steeling herself in case her cauldron exploded, she did as he said. Almost instantly, her potion turned sky blue.

Just in time, for barely a second later Snape was peering into her cauldron. He seemed disappointed that he couldn't criticise her, but couldn't resist saying in an almost sneering manner, " little miss know-it-all did it again...maybe you've been cheating... no one can brew potions this well." The silky dangerous voice that murmured those unfair words made Hermione's blood boil, and she bit back an angry retort. But before she could compose herself, the boy to her right said quietly but with obvious anger in his voice," It's unfair professor, she did it all by herself, you have no right to insult her when she did the potion right."

It was hard to tell who was more taken aback, Hermione or Snape, shocked that a student from his own house would defend a Gryffindor. Snape's mouth opened and closed again. Evidently, he was at a loss for words and chose instead to ignore him. Snape strode away and Hermione was left gaping. The boy stared straight ahead, and went back to ignoring Hermione's presence. Hermione was extremely confused, to say the least. Who was this Slytherin, who helped her and defended her, and why was it that he seemed so familiar...