AN: Ok, so I noticed that the breaks that I put in between the different POVs didn't show up. You can basically tell where they were supposed to be because the paragraphs always start with that person's name.

The characters in this story are a bit OOC for now, but that should change slightly. It's supposed to be sort of like that anyway, after all, it is called A Change of Heart.

Thank you to Kirsten for being my very first reviewer. Thanks to perfect-prima-donna for reviewing and letting me know about the typos. And thanks especially to krazed.hypa.ivii who has offered to be my beta reader.

Also, if anyone is looking for a beta reader for their own story, I would most likely be interested in doing it, just let me know.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters so far, they all belong to JK Rowling.


Chapter 2

And maybe you should sleep
And maybe you just need
A friend, as clumsy as you've been
There's no one laughing
You will be safe in here

"SLINKY!" Lucius Malfoy bellowed.

"Yes master?" the terrified house elf answered.

"Where the hell is my son?"

"Slinky is not knowing sir, master Malfoy was not in his room when I is being checking on him."

"That little ingrate is going to pay for this," Lucius snarled.

He stormed up the spiraled staircase towards his only son's room. He threw open the door and looked around. The bed was neatly made, but the green curtains fluttered around the open window in front of him. He wrenched open the closet to find it half empty.

"Maybe he is being kidnapped sir?" the house elf whispered.

Lucius thought it over for a moment. No, he had seen the look on the boy's face during the dinner party the night before; he had left on his own accord. Lucius shoved the house elf aside and stormed out of the room, his robes billowing behind him.


Draco stared at her in shock.

"I just walked you home…made you an Invigoration Draught…ringing any bells?"

"Oh…yes of course," Hermione turned a dark shade of crimson.

"Alright then, so I guess I'll just be going. Wonderful seeing you, have a nice life Granger," Draco said standing up.

"No, no Malfoy wait. What are you doing here?" Hermione asked.

"I really don't think that it's any of your business where I go or what I'm doing."

"Well, where are you going now?"

"Didn't we just go over this? It's none of your business."

"You don't have anywhere to go do you? Otherwise you wouldn't have been wandering the streets alone with a broomstick and a backpack." Hermione said.

"So what if I don't have anywhere to go, I'm clearly not staying here. I think it would be best if I left now to find somewhere to go. And no offense Granger, but after this ordeal, I need a cigarette." Draco had expected her to go into a lecture on how awful smoking was, but she didn't.

"Have one on the balcony; I want to talk to you."

"I really think that I should just leave."

"Stop being so stubborn Malfoy. You helped me home; the least I can do is let you stay here for a bit. I want to pay you back, but I want to make sure that you won't spread around what you saw of me tonight. I do have a reputation to uphold you know."

Draco knew that he should leave. It would put Granger in danger if he stayed. His father would know soon enough what he had done. On the other hand, this was probably the last place that his father would expect him to be.

"I'm not sure why I should care about your reputation. But, seeing as I don't have anywhere to go at the moment, I might as well stay for a bit."

"I really would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone at Hogwarts about this," Hermione said when they were on the balcony.

"That won't be a problem, since I'm not going back," Draco said, blowing out a puff of smoke.

Hermione looked at the smoke disapprovingly. "What do you mean you aren't going back, why not?"

"What do I have to do to get it through your head that my life is none of your business?"

"I'm just curious. Something is obviously going on with you and I want to know what it is. The Draco Malfoy that I know doesn't walk around alone, does not help girls home, and certainly does not make potions for them! I want to know what you're up to and what it has to do with me. If you and your father think that you can somehow get to Harry through me, then you are sadly mistaken!"

"Wow, so this is what it feels like to help people? I should really do it more often, don't you think?" Draco said sarcastically. "First of all, this has nothing to do with you or Potter and certainly nothing to do with my father. And second, Granger, haven't you ever wondered if someone could have a change of heart? A change so great that the people that they knew before wouldn't even recognize them after?"

"So that's what you're up to then? You're trying to change?"

"Is that really so hard to believe?"

"Well yes actually. The Draco Malfoy that I've always known was a cruel, awful person who worshipped the ground that his father walked on. And now you show up here, help me and say that you want nothing to do with your father. If you were in my place, would you believe it?"

"If that's what you think, then why would you allow me into your home and then convince me to stay?"

"Because that's what good people do Draco, they help other people."


Lucius was pacing his office. The Dark Lord was going to kill him. His son was a traitor, and there was nothing that his master hated more. He was waiting now for Voldemort to arrive. He had contacted him and told him that he had urgent news, but he hadn't specified what.

Narcissa was currently sick with worry for their son, alone in the world. But Lucius knew better. He knew that Draco would be fine in the real world. The only person that he was worried about was himself.

"Lucius," the familiar slimy voice called out.

"My Lord, I didn't hear you come in."

"So, what is this urgent business, I do not have all day you know."

"Well…It's about Draco."

"Well then, has he finally decided to get the Mark?"

"No. Well, I suppose it's the opposite really…He's gone."


Hermione eyed Draco carefully. Could he really have changed so much? After all, it had only been two weeks since they had been at Hogwarts, and he had been as cruel then as always.

"So, are you going to tell me why you're here, or is it still none of my business?" Hermione asked.

"It's not any of your business," Draco snapped. "But if you must know, I've just simply changed my mind. I changed my mind about following Voldemort and about being under the constant rule of my father. You have no idea what it's like to have something be expected of you your whole life. Everybody wants you to be something and you just want to be yourself."

"I actually do know sort of how you feel. In muggle school, I was the smartest student in my class. When I got my Hogwarts letter, it just gave my parents another reason for me to be something special. My parents expected me to excel at everything that I did, even if I knew nothing about it. I spent the whole summer before I started at Hogwarts studying. I knew that I, as a muggleborn, was unprepared for what would happen at the school. I had this great opportunity; I just couldn't let myself fail."

"Well, it paid off; you're the smartest witch in the school."

"Yes, but it didn't always come naturally. If you want to achieve something, you have to work hard for it and you have to do it for yourself. You can't do something just because somebody else wants you too."

"I think that you may just be smarter than I gave you credit for," Draco said.

Hermione smiled. "Thanks. Come on, you can sleep on my couch for the night."


When Hermione awoke the next morning she expected Draco to be gone. He had said that he could make the bed up for himself, so she had gotten sheets out and had gone to bed. But, sure enough, he was there in the morning.

She was awake early because of a grey barn owl pecking at her window. She immediately opened the window and let it in. It flew over and dropped two letters on her bed and flew straight back out. They were both addressed in green ink:

Hermione J. Granger

108 Summit Drive

Apt. # 7

Gryphon's Pit

Draco L. Malfoy

108 Summit Drive

Apt. # 7

Gryphon's Pit

That told her that he was still there indefinitely. The owls never got it wrong. She slipped on her bathrobe and walked silently into the living room. Draco was asleep peacefully on the couch. For some reason, Hermione could not bring herself to wake him. The night before, he had looked as though he hadn't had a proper night's sleep in ages.

Hermione just watched him sleep for a few moments. His hair was longer than the last time she had seen it, and it was no longer slicked back. It was as blond as ever and fell down to the collar of his shirt. Hermione also noticed that he was even more pale than usual; there were blue circles around his eyes. No, she would let him sleep a little longer. His hands had what looked like burns on them

Hermione headed into her small kitchen. There was a pot in the sink, but all other evidence of the night before was gone. She pulled out a frying pan and cracked some eggs into it. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't hear the footsteps behind her.

"Thanks for putting me up for the night Granger. I'll get out of your hair now."

Hermione jumped at the sound of his voice. The egg that she had been about to crack fell onto the floor.

"Shit, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Draco said, waving his wand at the broken egg.

"It's fine. Don't leave yet, I'm making breakfast."

Something in the tone of her voice made Draco sit down at the table.

"I almost forgot, our Hogwarts letters came," she said, putting a plate in front of him. She handed Draco his letter and sat down across from him. She was carefully ripping the top of the letter open when she heard Draco choke.

"What? What's wrong?" Hermione asked alarmed.

"I swear that old man gets crazier and crazier. The old coot made me Head Boy," Draco put his letter aside and went back to his breakfast.

"But that's great! Aren't you pleased?"

"Yeah sure, it's really just a title."

"Well, if it was me, I'd be happy."

"What makes you think you haven't been made Head Girl?"

Hermione eagerly tore into her letter. She scanned the papers inside:

Dear Miss Hermione Granger,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been offered the position of Head Girl at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You have proved through the last six years to be an exceptional student. You have received top grades in all of your classes and did very well on your OWLS during your fifth year.

All the staff agrees that there is no other young lady better suited for this job. We are confident that you will work in this position to the best of your abilities.

Congratulations,

M. McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress

"Well, congratulations to you Granger. I guess we'll get to run the school together then." Hermione looked startled for a minute and then smiled.

"I'm sure Dumbledore had his reasons for picking you. You do have top marks."

"I always thought that it would be Potter though. It should be interesting to see the look on his face when he finds out that not only is it not him, but it's me," Draco laughed.

"Maybe Dumbledore realizes that Harry has more to worry about then being Head Boy."

That shut him up


"What exactly do you mean by gone Lucius?" Voldemort asked.

"When I woke up this morning he was not there and some of his belongings were gone as well."

"So, he's a traitor," the Dark Lord sneered.

"Well, my Lord, I didn't want to jump to conclusions. Perhaps he just needed a break, I'm sure he will turn up sooner or later."

"If you want to remain among the living, it had better be sooner than later."


Severus Snape paced back and forth in his office. Avery had just contacted him to let him know the news about Draco. In a way, Severus admired the boy. It took guts to leave the life that he had been leading. On the other hand, he was a fool. No one walked away from the Dark Lord and lived.

Severus shook his head and sunk into his desk chair. He knew that he had to help his God Son, but he wasn't sure how to do it. He considered going to Dumbledore, but Draco was his responsibility, this was in his hands. Severus pushed his greasy hair back and reached for a quill.


Draco and Hermione were just finishing their breakfast when the second owl of the day flew swiftly into the room. It was a sleek black owl. It dropped the letter into Draco's empty plate and left as quick as it had come.

"I know that owl," Draco said pale-faced.

"Whose is it?"

Draco ignored her question as he tore open the letter. He tapped his wand to the parchment and whispered a spell that Hermione didn't recognize. He read it once over, sighed and began to read it aloud.

Draco,

I'm not sure what you were trying to pull by leaving your father's house like that. The news is already out into the group that you have renounced the Dark Lord and gone into hiding. As far as I know, no one knows of your location yet. I hope that this letter finds you safe and well.

If you truly have left the servitude of Voldemort then you must remain in hiding until your return to Hogwarts. I suggest that you remain wherever you are currently residing until the Dark Lord starts to get to close.

Best of luck,

Severus Snape

Ps. well done on making Head Boy


AN: alright, so that's the end of chapter 2. I got a few reviews for the first chapter and a bunch of people who added the story to their alert lists. This chapter hasn't been beta'd, so if anyone notices any mistakes, please let me know so I can patch them up.

Please send me a review, let me know what you think, and I'll update as soon as possible.