Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters nor do I ever imagine I will.
Chapter 1
There was one person that would always be certain to provoke her anger and that name was none other than Draco Malfoy. During their time at Hogwarts he had done nothing to her but annoy, and try and call her a filthy mudblood. It seemed to her as if that was the only word in his vocabulary that was as necessary for him as breathing was.
She had asked herself so many times why it was that he hated her so much, other that the fact that she was a muggle born witch. Their last encounter was a few days ago as they were preparing to leave Hogwarts for their summer vacation; their sixth year was finally over and when they returned they would be in their final year.
As the Hogwarts students were boarding the train they were all excitedly chattering away about their summer plans but two students stood out among the rest, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger. The two of them were engaged in what seemed to be a very heated argument with name-calling ranging from Mudblood to Death Eater and every other word in between. All of the students stopped to witness their encounter, and they all wanted to know how this certain row had gotten started. It wasn't a surprise to see the two in such a discussion, in fact whenever Hermione and Malfoy were at the same place at the same time (outside of a classroom of course) there scenes were bound to arise.
After Hagrid came and parted them for the last time of the school year they went their separate ways both of them thankful to be leaving Hogwarts at least for a while and being rid of the torture of having to see the other every day. The entire ride home Hermione was thinking of new ways that she could make Malfoy's life miserable next year and was eagerly awaiting the chance to put these new ideas into use. Though she would never admit this to anyone other than herself she terribly enjoyed the thrill that came with those heated discussions. It seemed as if Malfoy was the only person that could quickly respond to her wit and was more than willing to put her in her place, everyone else (starting with Harry and Ron) never seemed to question her. Not questioning her was understandable because she always did her research and knew just the right answers but just once she wished that someone other than Malfoy would give her a challenge.
"It's definitely time for a change," Hermione whispered to herself. "I don't want to be known as a know-it-all anymore, I want to be known for something else, I just don't want to be myself anymore." And with that said a plan was beginning to form inside her mind.
Draco Malfoy was on the other side of the city being picked up by his butler. His parents didn't even have the decency to come and pick him up themselves. Ever since Draco could remember the people that he had closest to him was Blake Hart, his butler, it had always seemed to him that he was the only person that cared; even then he wondered whether if he was with him because he wanted to be or because it was his job.
The trip made Draco feel as if he was alone, but being Draco Malfoy meant that he couldn't show anyone that he was lonely; much less admit it to himself. This feeling of loneliness that Draco had become accustomed to was something that never seemed to leave him, even in his dreams. There was always a reoccurring dream that sent shivers down his back and that was the dream, or should I say nightmare, of dieing alone. The only time that Draco didn't feel alone was when he was exchanging insults with Granger. There was something about the way that she was unafraid of him that made him feel almost human. She was the only person that wasn't afraid of him because he was a Malfoy, she wasn't afraid to tell him exactly what she thought, and most importantly when they were talking (or rather yelling at each other) she seemed to be acknowledging him as a person not as a member of the Malfoy family.