As promised, the second chapter.

"A woman, especially, if she have the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can." - Jane Austen

Walking through Daigon Alley with her parents for the first time. So many new things to see, so many possibilities. A bookstore. Finding her book. She looks up and steel grey eyes connect with hers.

Hermione woke up in bed with a start. She sighed. That dream again. She remembered seeing those piercing grey eyes in Flourish and Blotts for the first time.

Hermione believed that the eyes were the window into a person's soul, and had wondered who that boy with the haunting eyes was. Of course, now she knew. He was Draco Malfoy – Slytherin Prince, pureblood, and hater of muggleborns. She hadn't actually met him yet, but ever since the day of the sorting, rumors had quickly circulated that the heir of the Malfoy line was now at Hogwarts.

He had made no secret of his disgust for those with "dirty blood" and muggleborns had quickly learned to avoid him and his followers. He seemed to take especial pleasure in tormenting her – she supposed it was because she was both muggleborn and a Gryffindor.

Luckily, the Gryffindors were fiercely protective of their own and the few times she had been harassed, both her year-mates and the older Gryffindors had been quick to come to her defense.

Apart from their protection, Hermione was treated as something of an outcast from the rest of the Gryffindor first years. Whereas the others preferred to mess around outside or laze around the fireplace, Hermione found solace in the library. They ridiculed her and called her a know-it-all, though never to her face. They were just as bad as the Slytherins, she lamented.

Hermione enjoyed the silence of the library. In the books, she found new information about the fascinating new world she had become a member of. She was also driven by a need to prove herself – to prove that despite her blood status, she was just as good as any pureblood.

Another bonus to spending time in the library was that most of the Slytherins avoided it. Unfortunately, most did not mean all, she realized as she crashed into Malfoy on her way out. She was surprised when he caught her before she fell.

"Watch where you're going mudblood." he sneered, roughly releasing her. He glared at her and then brushed past without another word.

Hermione was shocked, usually their altercations were more drawn out, and ended with a hex or two. For Malfoy, that was rather sedate. She shrugged it off, maybe he was tired today?

Anyway, it was Malfoy. She wasn't going to spend her time worrying about him.

Draco sighed. He hated coming across Hermione in the corridors. He hated that she seemed to show no recognition of their brief meeting at Daigon Alley. He hated having to ridicule her to keep up his image. And he hated seeing those beautiful eyes of hers glisten and look at him with disgust.

She was fascinating. A mudblood who managed to do better in classes than the majority of purebloods.

And so Draco found himself spending another afternoon in the Slytherin common room. Pansy was blathering on about some girl who had dated some boy.

"Don't you think so Drakey?", Pansy simpered laying her hand on his arm. Draco swallowed the urge to shake her hand off and forced a smile.

"Of course." he replied though he had no idea what she was talking about. "I'm going to the library." The library, the one place where he could get some peace and quiet.

Without waiting for a response, he stalked out of the common room. As he walked, he wondered if she would be there. He knew she liked spending her time in there...

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice said girl and crashed right into her. He saw her begin to fall and caught her by reflex. He caught a faint scent of vanilla and something floral...

He quickly let go, pushing her away from him. "Watch where you're going mudblood." he warned her. Giving her one last look, he stalked past her, forcing himself not to turn around and look.

Draco was stunned to realize she had somehow attached herself to the idiotic duo, Potter and Weasley. How dare she befriend the blood traitor and the boy who had spurned his offer of friendship in front of all their year mates. How could she forgive them for the cruel comments they had made? He had heard about her crying in the bathroom during Halloween after an especially cruel comment by the Weasel.

Seeing her with them day after day just made his anger grow. He began to take great pleasure in tormenting her, wanting her to feel just a bit of what she felt. He glared at her during classes, went out of his way to shove her in hallways. Draco was slowly developing an unhealthy obsession.

That was slightly shorter than the first chapter... I'm probably going to speed through their next few years at Hogwarts. Their later years are when things start to get interesting. I wasn't quite happy with this chapter, but it's more of a filler than a main chapter so I made do with this. I'm going to try to write the majority of the next few chapters in Hermione's pov though for whatever reason I'm drawn to writing it from Draco's perspective. Please, please, pleeeease review! :)