Disclaimer: As I have already said, not my characters. Just having fun!

Hermione slammed the door behind her and fumed quietly. She knew she would need to calm down before her next class came in, but everything about that man infuriated her. That man. It wasn't long ago that it was that boy that made her constantly angry, but regardless of how he aged, it was still an inconsiderate jerk. How could McGonagall even think he would be a good teacher? She took the rest of her break to calm herself down and just as she reached a mellow and cool atmosphere, the door swung open with bright new faces, eager for educating.

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The class went well enough for the first day, and Hermione couldn't wait until later in the year when they would begin to tackle actual challenging work, though her students probably could wait. She was so busy planning for her next class that she had forgotten all about Draco and his rudeness, and nearly about lunch. Glancing at her watch, she ran to the Great Hall. It occurred to her on the way that had her train not been late, she could have seen Draco at the welcoming dinner, and had she not over slept, she would have seen him at breakfast that morning. It was almost as if she wasn't meant to see him before their little meeting in McGonagall's office. Oh, how cruel the Fates were.

She walked swiftly passed the long rows of student tables, nodding to all the "hello Professor Granger"s, and took her seat at the faculty table, avoiding all eye contact. This was her first time at this table and she couldn't help but notice how different the view was from up here. She acknowledged the teacher to her left, Prof. Willenat who was the new Charms teacher. He was nice enough, but Hermione placed him at about a hundred years old and not one to make conversation. The chair to her right was empty and looking past it she nodded to McGonagall and the few professors she remembered from her days in school. She didn't see, however, the one person she wanted to avoid, and remembering that the only available seat was next to her, she groaned with realization.

Suddenly a burst of girly giggles interrupted her thoughts and she looked up to see Draco Malfoy walking down between the tables. He was dressed in a black, tailored suit and his hair was parted well on the side and as he walked, he winked at nearly every giggling girl he could see. Hermione saw some of them literally swoon. She was reminded briefly of Professor Lockhart and rolled her eyes and avoided his at all costs.

"Hello again Ms. Granger," he said calmly as he took his seat next to hers and poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice. Hermione continued chewing her food, ignoring his comment.

"You do realize you can't ignore me the entire year."

"Watch me," she retorted, not meeting his gaze. He smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Regardless of what you may think of me, I have changed. You wouldn't know because well, you would never give me the chance to show you. I doubt you could understand the troubles I went through while in seclusion. I didn't see anyone my age for years and now that I'm finally free from the prison my father made for me, its unbearable that I'm shunned from everyone. It was only by the graces of McGonagall that I even have this opportunity. God only knows how I would have ended up if Hogwarts hadn't been a part of my life…" Hermione noticed that Draco had stopped looking at her, and that he seemed to be talking to himself. A twinge of sympathy went out to him, but she regained herself just as quickly.

"Well, Malfoy, if you want to prove to someone you've changed, acting the same as you use to is not the way to accomplish that goal." He snapped back to attention.

"I would like to apologize for all that. Though it would hardly excuse that behavior, I had just gotten of the train and a group of children began making jabs at me about my father. It seems his faults and their cruelty will never fade away." The distant look in his eyes returned.

"Oh well. What can one do in this situation but overcome it?" He returned to his lunch as though Hermione had never even been there. She went to speak but thought better of it. They both allowed the remainder of the meal to pass in silence.

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It was the fourth and last class of the day, and Hermione was anxious to get it over with. This class would be nothing but sixth years and she anticipated the higher maturity level. Well, she hoped for it anyway.

They filed in as usual and took their seats and as Hermione finished the same speech she had given three times before, a brown haired boy in the back piped up.

"So will you be giving private tutoring lessons?" His tone and slight smirk let everyone know his game and a loud snicker raced around the room. Hermione knew that she would have at least one student like him, the comedian and the heckler.

"I will give extra help to those who need it, but I will not tolerate passivity in this class. Each student will do his or her best to achieve perfect marks. Now, on to--"

"So, is Arithmancy the only thing you give tutoring on?" Again the snickers raced and Hermione was getting tired.

"Excuse me, but what is your name?"

"Aaron Dean, and might I say you look dashing in your robes Ms. Granger."

"Well Aaron, firstly it's Professor Granger, or if that's too difficult, Professor will do, and secondly, of course you may remark on my robes…in detention tomorrow afternoon." The snickers turned into deathly silence and Aaron's smile faded slightly. Hermione returned to her lessons and the rest of class continued on without a hitch.

After a majority of the students left, the one called Aaron approached her desk.

"Professor?"

"Yes, Aaron?" He looked down at his shoes as in shame.

"I just wanted to apologize about earlier. I just get cocky when I get nervous."

"Well that's an odd reaction to nerves. Why exactly were you nervous?" He blushed slightly before answering.

"I always seem to get nervous around beautiful women." Now it was Hermione's turn to blush, but she hid it well.

"Well, I'll admit there are plenty of beautiful women in your year, but that's no reason to get yourself into trouble. Now you need not worry about detention tomorrow, but next time I won't be as kind."

"Thanks Professor," he said skipping out of the room, but not before turning around on last time. "And Professor? I wasn't talking about the girls in the class." Before she could respond, he was gone.

How perfect was this year turning out? First she had to be away from her friends, second, one of her most hated enemies wanted to be buddies and now one of her students had a crush on her. She now could only anticipate what else this strange year would bring.

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She was more anxious going to dinner that night than she should have been, and just as she entered the Great Hall, she realized she couldn't face both Draco and Aaron, and so she doubled back and made for the library. Being no stranger to eating alone in there, she didn't mine the silence and in fact she welcomed it. As she walked to a random table, she grabbed a book randomly off the shelf to read. She never had to search for a book, for no matter what she picked it would be tantalizing simply to learn.

The book dealt with werewolves, a topic of which she knew well, but she read anyway. She was at least a hundred pages in before she realized that she hadn't touched her food. Knowing that reading and eating was never safe for her to do at the same time, she put the book away and decided to work on lesson plans while she ate. Hermione's mind was so full of werewolf facts by this point that her legible writing slowly began to turn into werewolf doodles. Soon her food was abandoned all together and she devoted herself fully to the extremely detailed wolf that looked remarkably like her old friend Remus Lupin. She never even noticed the tears that filled her eyes.

"You miss them don't you?" she heard a voice ask her and she answered without a second thought.

"It just doesn't seem fair. They were all so good; I just don't understand why they had to die. There was so much they had left to give and do. There were so many promises left broken…" her voice trailed off into nothing. The voice waited for her to keep talking and seeing she was done, he sat down across from her.

"Hermione, I am truly sorry for every wrong I did to you in school. I hate who I was then, and I hope you can forgive me." At this last declaration, Hermione realized who was sitting across from her and she jolted up.

"Malfoy! What are you doing here?!"

"I heard you crying," he responded equally shocked.

"I was not crying. I was…thinking loudly." He was not convinced.

"Your thinking sounded a lot like crying." Hermione began to pack her things and rose to leave when Draco grabbed her arm.

"Hermione, please. Can you ever forgive me?" She glanced from his grip on her arm to his eyes and though her eyes were wet, they now burned with a fire she couldn't control.

"Forgive you?" She yanked her arm free of his grasp. "You turned against all of us Malfoy. You made a pack with the Dark Lord and in turn decided your future. You have no one to blame for your unhappiness but yourself. You helped kill the people I loved most. You killed parts of my family. How dare you ask for forgiveness from me? Why don't you ask Molly Weasley for forgiveness for tearing her family apart? Or how about Remus Lupin and Tonks, and what about their son Teddy who will never know how great his parents were and how much they sacrificed? Why don't you ask Harry Potter for forgiveness for taking away his godfather, and the last chance at a normal family he had in this world?" Her tears were uncontrollable as she sat back down at the table and placed her head in her hands.

Draco had the strange desire to touch her and console her. He didn't understand the desire he had inside of him and it scared him a little. Sure he wanted to be friendly with this girl he once hated, but he was looking to make amends with everyone he'd ever hurt. He just wanted to apologize; he didn't need all this extra emotion involved. Why was she so demanding of his emotional energy. His right mind told him that Hermione Granger would never forgive him and that he should leave, but it was his heart, oddly enough, that told him to stay.

"Hermione," he began softly, "I know there's nothing I can ever do to make all this right. I can't give you back the ones you lost and I suppose you'll never be able to forgive me for the damage I've helped create, and it's wrong of me to expect you to. I can't change the past, but I can affect the future…if you'll let me." Hermione perked up her wet and weary eyes to his proposal.

"What do you mean, if I let you?"

"Well, if you remain so resistant towards me, it'll be hard for me to make it up to you." Hermione sighed wearily.

"There is no making it up to me."

"Well let me try. Please. I've spent the last ten years reflecting on everything that happened. It was so…pointless and evil. I don't ever want to be that person again, but I need help. Will you help me?"

She couldn't make heads or tails of his confessions; being so use to his conniving and vindictive ways, she knew it would be difficult to trust anything he said and harder to see him as a good guy. It would be hard, but…Hermione believed people could change, so why should Malfoy not be able to? What did she have to lose? Well, her sanity for one, but she was losing that already. She looked at him through clearer eyes and saw him for what he was: a lost, lonely and broken man. How could she not help? She spoke barely above a whisper, but her heard her just the same.

"Fine. I'll help."

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