Chapter 1

Draco always admired Hermione, ever since he saw her bushy hair in the first-year queues. He never looked at another girl –however he may have appeared to-after he glimpsed her in the queue. He remembered the first time he saw her as though it happened yesterday.

He was in the queue with the other first-year students, waiting to be sorted into houses. He had no doubt that he would be in Slytherin. In fact, if he wasn't sorted into Slytherin, he's sure that he would be inherited. Slytherin is the house he's meant to be in, and he will inherit the tradition of the family.

His mind wavered when he saw the girl he admired being sorted into Gryffindor. For a split second, he wanted to go to Gryffindor to join her, to have a chance with her, to meet her. His mind instantly converted to: "Slytherin is my future." the instant the Sorting Hat was on his head. Thankfully the Sorting Hat hadn't been able to read his mind, or it did but decided to ignore it.

He was looking forward in meeting Hermione (he memorised her name when McGonagall read it out on the First Year name list). Her first lesson with her was Double Potions with Professor Snape-his Head of House. Unfortunately, he didn't think Hermione noticed him. She seemed…all knowing, like she memorised the whole textbook even before the school term has started. Anyways, his chance of observing Hermione was ruined when Potter arrived in class; once more when Longbottom managed to melt a cauldron when the potion he was making went wrong.

His second chance of meeting Hermione apart from the Potions lesson is flying lesson that the first years had to take. Draco loved flying, he hates the fact that the first years never getting into the house Quidditch teams. He only flew twice in his life, as his father has to be low profile. The last thing his father wants him to do is to get into trouble with the Ministry of Magic. The first time he was lucky, he narrowly escaped when his father did something with the Muggle's brain with his wand. The helicopter crashed on the field beside his manor, and was reported for "out of fuel". The second time, he snuck out again, but avoided the Copter, narrowly.

For some reason, everybody else has some flying stories that they want to tell. He didn't think it was true but nobody bothered to check on it. Fortunately, Hermione didn't have any flying experiences; he'd spotted her reading "Quidditch through the Ages" at breakfast on Thursday. He loved how her voice sounded clear but enunciated when important bits coming up. He would love to join her, and sit beside her to listen to her flying tips. He didn't think it was a good idea, after all, Slytherin shouldn't mix with Gryffindor is an unwritten rule. Draco desperately needed to see her, so he went by the Gryffindor table and grab the red Remembrall that Longbottom got from his Gran. He did get a lovely look of Hermione with her head buried in her book. Not for long though, Potter and Weasley both jumped up to fight him. McGonagall quickly stopped the fight as he went away with Crabbe and Goyle, whom he knew from his father's relationship with their fathers.

"Just looking." As he sloped away, smiling to himself that he's the only one who knew what , to be precisely who he was looking at.

He laughed at Longbottom when he broke his wrist, to attract the attention Hermione. Okay, he admit that calling Longbottom "the great lump" may have gone too far, especially getting Patil snapping at him. Nobody knows that he was just trying to be funny, to draw the attention. Parkinson didn't help either when she joined in. God knows what goes on in the girl's mind, probably has a crush on him. He acknowledges that he's quite good looking but there's no need for such…loud…sucking up.

He was only trying to show off, like all boys do when their crush is nearby. He didn't plan for Potter to show off his Qudditch skills. Draco didn't know what Potter was thinking, or doing for that matter. He was sure that it was a fluke that Potter managed a fifty-foot dive, and showing off. It didn't stop everybody in the class being awed by his little trick however. It didn't get him into the trouble as Draco had expected but, he had other plans.

Getting Potter into trouble is the perfect way to get rid of the distraction of Hermione. He knew that she spends all her time in the library, and probably read as much books as she can get her hands on. She would be fascinated by Potter, and that's the last thing Draco needed. It doesn't help the fact Granger trying to help Potter every chance she gets.

A midnight duel that between him and Potter would be a perfect chance to make sure that Potter gets expelled. Of course, the important link being that he won't turn up, and poor Potter would have to explain to the Caretaker how he was "lost" on midnight in school. It didn't turn out as the way he planned, when Draco saw Potter and Weasley in school the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful.

It turns out that Potter, Weasley and Hermione are a trio now, bonded together by their adventure on Halloween, when they tried to take down a mountain troll. Stupid of them, but Draco was glad that Hermione wasn't hurt. Scared maybe, but not physically scarred. He doesn't think that anyone knows how scared he felt when he didn't spot the bushy head on the Gryffindor table just as Professor Quirrel announced that a troll is in the dungeon. He wanted to get out of there at once to rescue the girl, but Parkinson grabbed him like she was saving him or something, and they got to the Slytherin common room as Draco's last hope for rescuing Hermione himself disappeared.

He realised that he wanted a girl like her. He needed to take his chance, next year. He needs to be better at something than her, to show her that he wasn't just some snobby boy who's the archenemy of Potter and Weasley. He didn't care about the blood status of her; he just wants her, the girl with bushy hair, Hermione Granger.