Draco woke up the next morning with a headache. Moving onto his back, he pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. He rolled out of bed slowly, waiting for the other people in his dormitory to leave for breakfast.
Blaise gave him a hearty pat on the shoulder before disappearing through the door into their common room. Draco was grateful for Blaise. Even though he didn't think he could tell him much about what he was going through, Blaise made him laugh even when he thought he couldn't.
With the dormitory empty, Draco dressed and grabbed his Nimbus 2001, heading out the door and making his way down to the Quidditch pitch.
Draco arrived early. Clad in his seekers uniform, he looked up into the cloudy, gray sky and smiled a bit. It was a little windy. Perfect for flying. The grass was soaked with dew from the night before and the air held a bit of a chill.
Draco shivered a bit before he slowly mounted his broom and took off speeding through the air. The chilly wind and fog stung his face and whipped his white blond hair around. He didn't care, the breeze felt good. He loved flying. The feel of being lifted from the ground was magnificent and you could go soaring wherever you wanted. Gravity didn't apply to you anymore.
Draco reached a very high elevation before stopping to look around. The view from up above was amazing. He could see the magnificent Hogwarts castle silhouetted in front of the bright orange morning sun. He could see the Forbidden Forest glinting in the sun while small clusters of birds flew just above the treetops. The Black Lake sparkled and shimmered while looking like a flat sheet of glass covering the grounds. The whole scene was breathtaking. Draco inhaled slowly, breathing in the fresh, crisp air that surrounded him. It was moments like these that made him happy with his life outside of home. He closed his eyes and sat still for a moment, just listening to the sounds of the morning. He was sharply brought out of his reverie when he heard a voice down below, shouting for him. It was Blaise calling him down. Draco reluctantly swerved and sped towards the ground.
He landed on his feet rather hard and looked up at the stands. It was only a practice so their wouldn't be too many people up there.
He spotted Colin Creevey, a sixth year now, sitting patiently on a bench. 'He finally gave up on that obnoxious camera.' Draco thought with a smirk. His eyebrows creased as he saw Argus Filch in the stands, cleaning something Draco couldn't see off the side of a seat. Draco turned his head to look along the other stretch of seats. He saw Dean Thomas with Seamus Finnigan moving down between the benches, trying to find a good spot.
Draco looked further down. He frowned when he saw Hermione Granger sitting quietly with a quill in her hand and a roll of parchment on her lap. She was scribbling furiously like she desperately needed to get something done within this minute.
He raised his eyebrows and thought, 'Typical Granger, we aren't even one week into school and already she's cramming her mind.' Still, Draco couldn't help but admire her as she suddenly looked up into the sky to rest her eyes and aching hand.
His gray eyes fell on her hair which had calmed down quite a bit over the summer. It still had some frizz. She would never be free from that, but her face seemed clearer, happier and more open. Almost, Draco admitted, pretty.
He saw her take a sigh of contentment as she looked down onto the parchment, rolled it up, and stuffed it back into her bulging book bag. She then stood, straightened her blouse, and heaved the bag onto her shoulder.
Draco watched her descend the stairs at the end of the row of benches. She was walking lopsidedly under the weight of her books.
"DRACO!"
Draco raised his head sharply in the direction of his name. Blaise was looking impatient, summoning him closer with his free hand. Draco shook his head free of all thoughts of Granger, and ran to catch up with his teammates.
• • •
Draco walked into the Great Hall with Blaise for lunch later that day. The Hall was packed with new students eager to try the delicious Hogwarts food that they had been deprived of all summer.
The two boys found a quiet spot at the Slytherin table. Blaise grabbed a turkey sandwich and put it on his plate along with a chicken leg and a glass of pumpkin juice. Draco didn't feel much like eating but took a piece of the chicken and dropped it onto his plate for appearances sake.
Draco flickered his eyes around the Great Hall. He saw all the wide-eyed first years as they frantically looked around and gasped at the Great Hall. Draco's eyes looked down on his own table.
He saw Pansy Parkinson and groaned with disgust and annoyance. She was currently telling what looked like a hilarious story to a group of Slytherins in a very loud and obnoxious voice. She also had her left arm around Marcus Flint who looked slightly violated and uncomfortable as she screeched and flailed her hands, imitating a small second year girl. Pansy was one of the Slytherins who didn't quite grow up and out of the "bully all Mudbloods" phase. Over the years, many of them, Draco and Blaise included, realized that your blood status didn't really matter. Their were still many adults that thought differently but regardless. It really didn't matter what anybody else thought.
Draco lifted his gaze from the flirtatious Pansy and instead at Blaise who was already into his third sandwich.
"Are you even going to eat at all?" Said Blaise with raised eyebrows as he swallowed a gulp of pumpkin juice.
Draco shrugged "No, I'll eat later."
The Great Hall grew steadily quieter as more and more people filed out to begin their afternoon classes.
Draco looked around and observed a bit more. He suddenly made eye contact with Hermione Granger. Her head all except her eyes were concealed behind a bulky book. As soon as he saw her looking a him, she jerked her head down quickly as if his gaze had stung her. He smirked knowingly as he saw her cheeks blush furiously behind her book.
He had to admit. It wasn't uncommon to see witches glance at him often. With his white blonde hair, gorgeous jawline, and perfect physique, who wouldn't want him for their own? At least that's what Pansy had told him in forth year when they had been dating.
But Granger? It wouldn't be so terrible if she liked him. But it was odd. Granger had always seemed off-limits to anyone. If most people were to describe her in one word, they would say prude. But she wasn't all that bad. Draco now had a hard time understanding why he was so horrible to her in the past. She wasn't causing any harm to anyone.
It's his Father's fault. Draco's Father had brainwashed him into thinking that muggle-borns were terrible, infectious scum. That they should be banished from the wizarding world forever. He was dreadfully wrong. None of them were bad. And Draco regretted not asking his Father why they were so terrible. Their would have been no legitimate answer.
As Draco looked at Hermione now, he felt a sense of sympathy for her because of all the hate she has had to endure from people like his family. He wanted to apologize to her before she had to go through anymore pain and suffering because he knew she would experience more of it and it burdened him. He actually liked the fact that she was proud to be muggle-born. It showed confidence and bravery that was rare these days and he longed to be around people like that. Maybe in the hopes that some of it would rub off on him and he would get up the courage to leave his family once and for all.
The bell rang signaling all students to leave for their next class. Draco saw Hermione give him one last glance and then quickly bustle out of the Great Hall.
