~Ten years ago~

"I'm Hermione Granger. Who are you?"

"Um, Draco Malfoy, Miss Princess."

She giggled at the boy on the other side of the fence. "That's a cool name! You can call me Mione if you'd like!" she said, extending her hand. He grinned and took it.

"Alright Mione. Do you want to play?" Draco asked her as he rested his chin on the top of the fence. Hermione's lips took the form of a fish's and she looked behind her. She knew that her mother and father would not approve of her running off with a boy she just met to play. But what did she care?

"Ok! Should we go to the forest?" she asked, hopping over the wood and standing in front of the slightly taller boy. He nodded and grabbed her hand, taking her with him to the lush and green forest several yards away. As the two got farther and farther away from the castle, Hermione spoke to the blond, ruffled haired boy.

"Draco? Don't you think this is a bit too far?" But Draco ignored her until they finally stopped below a very large tree. All worries were washed from Hermione's mind as she gaped at the tree. It had many climbable limbs, but was hollow at the same time. It looked as if it was made for children.

"I wanna show you something, come on!" Draco grinned, with a few baby teeth missing. He ran into the hollow trunk with Hermione behind him. Soon, he started climbing what seemed to be a kind of ladder that went straight to the highest branch of the tree. Hermione quickly climbed after him until they were at the very top.

"Whoa…." she said as she sat on the branch, only then realizing that this was the highest tree in the entire forest, as the limb that they were on was above all the other trees. "Look! There's my house!" Hermione pointed in glee at the castle. "Where's your house, Draco?"

His face fell and he looked down at his swinging feet. "I don't have a house. Me and my mum live here in the forest. My daddy died right after I was born." he said sadly, swinging his feet back and forth faster now. Hermione's expression turned to that of a sad one.

"Well, maybe you and your mum can come on live with me and my family? We have many rooms that you can sleep in! We could be like brother and sister!" she suggested, a wide grin spreading across her pretty face.

Draco shrugged. "I don't think your family will like us. You see, my mum's a muggle. My daddy was a wizard. So that makes me a half-blood. I don't think your family would like half-bloods like me." he said, not averting his eyes from his feet. Hermione gave him a sympathetic look.

"I don't believe in those things, but I know my mum and dad do. You're a person just like me, aren't you?" she said, pinching his hand and smiling. He smiled back at her before the two heard a voice.

Hermione sighed and looked at Draco. "That's my mum. I think I should go. Bye Draco." she said, giving him a small hug, and climbing down the ladder. Draco's shoulders slackened and he quietly followed Hermione down. As soon as he reached the bottom, he saw a tall and beautiful woman, who looked like an older Hermione, except with a sharper look.

"Where have you been, young lady? You know you're not allowed to leave the castle grounds!" the woman said bluntly. "And who is this? Have you already started making friends with mudbloods and such!" she said, gesturing toward Draco.

"No, Mum! He's not a mudblood, he's a friend! Mum, can he and his mummy stay with us?" Hermione asked, on her tip-toes. The woman replied sternly. "Absolutely not, now let us go back. Wait until your father hears what you've been doing, playing with half-bloods. Come on, Hermione!" she said, grabbing the girl's wrist and taking her with her back to the castle. Hermione cast one last wary glance back at Draco and waved, before the two were out of sight.

"Bye, Mione." he waved back.


The girl of eighteen stared at her father as he looked through The Daily Prophet. Her mother was doing no different. Oh, how she longed to go outside and see Draco again. But she knew that wasn't going to happen, as she hadn't seen the Malfoy boy for years after his mum had died at the hands of Hermione's own father. And he didn't mind one bit, as her parents didn't give a damn about muggles.

"The new draperies will be arriving soon." she said, eyeing her now empty cup of tea. "Hmm." was the only response she got from either one of her parents. Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed. "I have things to do. Please excuse me." she said before standing up and heading to her room. As soon as she got there, she looked out the window. And what fell in the range of her sight stopped her heart for seconds. An older Draco Malfoy was standing on the grounds, with a wicked looking woman next to him, with their wands in hand. Within a few seconds, they raised their wands, and pointed directly at the castle. Hermione screamed as a curse broke the window. She quickly ran out and shouted for her parents. But as soon as she came down, the large building shook, and there they were. Bloodied and on the floor, with debris everywhere.

Hermione cried out before another blast destroyed the library. She screamed in protest as she watched books fly out. She grabbed the sides of her dress and ran as fast as she could to get her favorite book from the debris, before running to her parents' side. "Please wake up! Please!" she cried, shaking her parents. No pulse. No breathing. As dull as they were, they were her parents, and she couldn't leave them. But she had to. She let out one last sob before she ran through the hole that had just been made. Casting one last glance at the two bodies on the floor, she ran. Ran as fast as she could into the forest, without any clue what was awaiting her there.


Chapter 1! Hope it was good! :D