Draco's Hope

by Phoebe F

Draco wants nothing to do with his father and Voldemort, though nobody knows that. He tries to befriend Harry, but fails because he hasn't had much practice at friendly conversation. So when he gets into Slytherin, he asks Dumbledore to change his house to Gryffindor, and he agrees. However, that makes both Slytherins and Gryffindors turn against him, but Hermione becomes a friend.

1. Chapter 1

This is chapter 1 out of 2. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Draco was misunderstood. He hated his father, Lucius Malfoy, and what he stood for, but of course nobody knew. If they did, he would be shunned by his whole family. Draco grew up knowing that someday, when he went to Hogwarts, he would be expected by his father to hate muggleborns, but he just couldn't. Underneath the mask that Draco put on, he was a kind and caring boy. So when he got his letter to Hogwarts, he felt a sense of growing dread. At last, the time came. Draco entered Diagon Alley, and was greeted with stares and whispers. He was finally able to escape from his dad and mum to go and buy school robes. Once in Madam Malkin's shop, he was able to collect his thoughts. However, someone entered the shop, and when Draco saw who it was, he didn't know whether to be horrified or relieved. He chose to be relieved. The person who had just walked in was Harry Potter. Even though this boy's parents were killed by Voldemort, who was strongly supported by his father, Draco believed that he could befriend Harry and try to make up for what his parent had done. But he, growing up in a family that believed they were better than all others, wasn't that good at making friendly conversations. In fact, looking back on it, he must have said all the wrong things, for Harry seemed quite annoyed the next time they met.

At last he was on the train to Hogwarts. Draco met Crabbe and Goyle, whose fathers were also Death Eaters, so of course he had to befriend them. When the train left Platform 9 ¾, he attempted to shake off his "friends," but of course they were too stupid to take a hint. So Draco had to go attempt to make Harry Potter like him with the wrong company. When he at last found the compartment that housed The Boy Who Lived, he was with Ronald Weasley. Great, just great. Harry was friends with Arthur Weasley's son, who his father loathed. Not only that, but there was no way he could be friendly to the boy that Voldemort hated in the presence of two people who were related to Death Eaters. So this time, Draco had to be extremely rude to Potter and his pals, which was not helping his case. He felt like scum. That is, until he was visited by Hermione. Since she was such a bookworm, she had read everything about the wizarding world, and knew all about Draco's family. However, she knew that there were two sides to every story. He was hesitant at first, but she listened while he spent 30 minutes explaining. Hermione promised she would try to get Harry to listen to him. After she left, Draco had a lot to think about. He liked her, but he knew that she was a muggleborn, and he had to keep at the pretense that he hated people like her, at least to Crabbe, Goyle, and the other future Slytherins.