Once Strangers, Now Enemies



Prologue



Hermione, at the age of 9, ran through the scraggly collection of trees called The Wood.

She had a voracious curiosity, and ever since she had moved here with her parents, she kept hearing the horrible rumors about a family called Malfoy.

They had a huge estate, and she wanted to see it. It was right on the other side of these woods. She also wanted to see the mysterious young Malfoy, Draco.

She moved confidently, and with skill through the forest. Sunlight streamed between the trees' branches, dappling her skin.

Hermione had told her parents that she was going hiking through the woods, and it would probably take all day.

She had packed four sandwiches, a bottle of water, and some extra clothes, just in case something happened to her old ones.

At last, she arrived at the other side. She stared in awe at the humongous castle; it looked more like a prison than a home.

" What are you doing here?" A slightly hostile voice startled her.

" Erm...I...well, I wanted to see the Malfoy estate." she explained. " Isn't it magnificent? But a little scary if you asked me. I wouldn't want to live there."

Her eyes lingered on the gray walls, and the people patrolling the battlements.

Wait...battlements? Why were there battlements on a house?

"I feel a little sorry for the boy," she said, almost as if she was talking to herself.

The owner of the voice stepped out of the shadows. She gasped, slightly. She had never seen anyone quite like him. He had platinum blond hair, intense eyes that were sometimes gray, sometimes blue, like the sky, ever changing. He walked with the lithe grace of a jaguar on the prowl. He wore a red silk shirt, leather pants, his slender hands shoved into the pocket.

"What boy?" He asked inquisitively.

"Oh, you know, the little boy, Draco, it must be hard growing up in there." she said, sympathizing with someone she had never met.

"Really? Why do you think that?" He asked.

" Well, that house doesn't look like a house, if you know what I mean. It looks more like a fortress, and-" Just then she realized she was talking to a complete stranger, and her mother had told her not to do that.

"Yes? Please continue." He urged her.

" First, I need to know who you are. I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." She explained.

" Oh, well, my name is...Scott." He said, after a moment's hesitation.

" Okay, Scott, I'm Hermione."

"Hello Hermione."

They stood in awkward silence for a minute.

" Well, then, what else makes you feel sorry for Draco?" Scott said, breaking the silence.

" Well...it just doesn't seem...well...nice up there. It doesn't seem like a place where a little boy should grow up." She said.

"Oh, okay then-" Scott began to say when Hermione interrupted him," It makes me cold just looking at it."

She looked down at her watch and gave a start.

" Sorry, Scott, but I have to go now." and she picked up her bag and ran back into the forest.

The next day, she came back, but he wasn't there.

Everyday she went back to look for him. She was lonely, because she's an only child, but still, she didn't find him.

A year passed and she began to forget him.

Hermione had started in on the books in the Adult section in the library. She mostly read fantasy; it was her favorite genre.

Therefore when she got a letter from Hogwarts, she was absolutely delighted. In the flurry of action that followed that letter, she completely forgot about Scott.

A/n: Well, that's the prologue. I hope that you liked it. ^_^ If you did, please review so I know that you liked it. I will continue when I can