ENJOY!


disclaimer: Once again, I own nothing.

One month had passed since Hermione Granger recieved the letter from Professor McGonogall, and now she was packing to go off for her final year at Hogwarts. She sighed to herself as she sat on her turquoise and indigo embroidered bed. She glanced around her room. Pictures of her and her friends covered her walls, bookshelves, and nightstand. She got up and began walking around, reminiscing of her previous years at the school. She smiled as she looked at all of her pictures. She saw Harry and Ron waving to her from outside of the Three Broomsticks on their very first trip there all together. There was one from the Yule Ball, and one from the last summer when they had all stayed at Ron's house.

"Hermione! We're going to be late if you don't hurry!," yelled her mother from the bottom of the stairs.

"Coming!"

Hermione grabbed her trunk which contained all of her school supplies and clothing, among other various things, and her cat Crookshanks. She took one last look at her fairy themed room and left to begin her seventh year.

+++

Draco Malfoy was carrying his trunk quietly down the stairway as not to wake his parents. He felt there was no need to see them before he left; he had written them a note the night before and he decided to leave it on the kitchen table. He placed his trunk beside the door, and silently crept to the kitchen to leave a note on the table.

"Good morning Draco."

Draco jumped so violently that he knocked the bowl of fruit on the counter to the floor, making a sound like breaking china as it collided with the tile floor.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack! What the hell are you doing down here?," Draco growled.

"Merely saying goodbye to my only son. It was so thoughtful of you as to let us know when you were leaving."

"You're welcome," Draco sneered. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must be leaving," he said while turning to head back to the front door.

"Oh Draco," his father called. "The Dark Lord regrets that you won't be joining him this week. However, he has asked me to inform you that when you come home for the Christmas holidays, he will make you a Death Eater."

Draco's face paled, though you couldn't see it in the dimly lit kitchen.

"Yes, he believes you are ready."

Draco stayed silent. In all of his life, this is the one time he couldn't think of anything to say.

Lucious smirked. "See you soon."

With that, he got up and returned to his room. Draco stood there in disbelief for a moment. I don't want to be a Death Eater, he thought. I refuse to become like him. There must be a way out of this, but how? How the hell am I supposed to get out of this? He ran his hand through is sleek blonde hair. Then again, said another voice inside his head, this is expected of you. Most of the people who know you already think you're a Death Eater, so why not go ahead and become one? Being Voldemort's heir probably isn't that bad...

Suddenly realizing the time, Draco snapped back to reality and hurried off on his way to Platform Nine and Three Quarters to board the Hogwarts Express.

+++

It was quite an unusual site to see; there was hardly anyone at Platform Nine and Three Quarters, since only the Prefects and Head Boy and Girl were riding that day. Nonetheless, there were still people hussling about, saying good-byes to family, and catching up with old friends. Hermione walked onto the platform looking around for her two best friends. It didn't take long until she spotted the firey red hair of Ron and Ginny Weasly. She took off running towards them, as fast as her legs would allow.

"Harry look! Its Hermione!" Ron pointed to a frizzy haired girl running towards them. Harry turned around just before he was nearly knocked down by one of his best friends. She may be small, but Hermione could be quite strong when she wanted to be. "Hermione!," he yelled, giving the girl a hug.

" 'Mione! I'm so glad to see you!," screamed Ginny, giving her best friend a hug.

"We've missed you," chimed in Ron.

"I've missed you too. The three of you," she replied, giving Ron a hug. "Come on, lets hurry and get on the train, we have a lot to catch up on."

The foursome loaded their things onto the train as quickly as they could, and got into the same compartment they had always gotten into whenever they rode the Hogwarts Express, since the first day they ever met.They sat down, Ron and Harry across from Hermione, Crookshanks, and Ginny. Their compartment was small, but in a cozy way. It had cherrywood walls, a huge window that allowed them to view the outside world as it passed beside them, and green cushions embroidered with leaves. Hermione spoke up.

"Do you guys realize that this is the last time we'll be riding on this train together?"

There was silence as the two boys and Ginny looked at their surroundings.

"Wow. I never thought of that," said Harry.

"Yeah, but technically, we still have the ride home," Ginny added.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Well, this is the second to last time then," replied Hermione.

Crookshanks, who had been sleeping quite soundly, awoke at the sound of the foursome talking. He stretched, and then jumped from Hermione's lap to Rons. He purred as Ron stroked his back.

"I can't believe I ever hated this cat," he said.

"Yeah, but I can remember when you wanted to kill it for trying to hurt Scabbers," said Harry, laughing at the thought.

Hermione smiled as the Harry, Ron, and Ginny began reminiscing of the years past at Hogwarts. Soon she began to get bored, and decided to take a walk around the train. "I'll be back soon. I'm just going to go walk around for a bit."

"Okay," the trio said, not even bothering to look up from their conversation.

+++

Chills ran down Draco's spine as he sat in his uniquely decorated compartment. It was almost like Harry, Ron, and Hermione's except it was more roomy, and had snakes carved into the cherrywood walls. He, along with Crabbe and Goyle, had taken it upon themselves to add something to the compartment everytime they boarded the train. (Crabbe and Goyle weren't there though, because, as one would obviously detect, they weren't Prefects). No one else dared to enter it, since "Draco the Death Eater" and his cronies rode in there.

He sighed to himself while leaning his head against the window, looking out onto the misty and slowly darkening landscape- they were getting closer to Hogwarts. I am going to be the heir to the Dark Throne, he thought. He had been thinking about what his father had said earlier that morning all day long, and slowly but surely that little argumentative voice in his head had taken over what little defense against him being a Death Eater and Voldemort's heir he had left. His thoughts were soon broken as a familiar figure slipped into his compartment and seated herself next to him.

"Hello Pansy," he said in a monotone voice. Why does she always have to pester me?, he asked himself.

"Hey Draco. I missed you this summer," she said, leaning closer to him.

I bet, he thought.

"Did you miss me?," she asked seductively, crossing her left leg over his.

He lied. "Of course I did." Pansy was always good for one thing, and he really needed something to take his mind off of Lord Voldemort and his plans to make Draco his heir. He didn't want so much pressure on him right when he returned to school.

"Good." She smiled. "I was getting bored sitting with Lavender, so I decided to pay you a little visit. Are you bored, Draco?"

He watched as Pansy began unbuttoning his shirt, kissing his neck with each button.

"Yes," he replied before he kissed her mouth passionately.

There was really nothing there in the means of an actual relationship. In reality, Draco didn't much care for Pansy. He always thought she was really annoying. But on the contrary, she did have a good way of taking his mind off of things. Their "meetings" had been occurring since the end of their fifth year. They remained merely "friends with benefits." However, they weren't really friends, so they were "people with benefits".

+++

Hermione wandered the corridor of the train. It was relaxing to her. The feel of the plush red carpet and the humming sound of the train seemed to soothe her. She was getting nearer to the end of the train and was about to turn to go back to her friends when she heard sounds coming from the compartment to her right. Merlin!, she thought. Who would do that on the train! They should at least have the decency to save it for their dorm rooms. She quickly turned and started back towards her own compartment, but curiousity got the best of her. It won't be so bad if I found out who it was, she told herself. Slowly, she crept up to the door; it was cracked open. She peered in, and saw Pansy Parkinson and her most hated enemy, Draco Malfoy, going at it right before her eyes. She gasped loudly. Damn it!, she cursed to herself. She turned to go for fear of being caught because of the noise her sudden shock had made, but it was too late. As Pansy was working her way down Draco's body, he looked up to see that the door was cracked open, and that someone was hurrying from the door. It was obvious that the person had seen them.

"Shit!," Draco cursed aloud. He pushed Pansy off of him. "Stay here," he said and ran out the door. It was a good thing Pansy hadn't gotten his pants unbuttoned yet.

Hermione was hurrying down the hall and thought she had gotten away, until-

"GRANGER!"

She turned around. "What do you want, Malfoy?"

"Why the hell were you watching me and Pansy? Wishing it was you there instead of her?," he sneered.

Hermione snickered. "Are you kidding me? Why would I want to fuck a ferret?"

Draco's temper rose. "Maybe because you can't get any from Potter."

Hermione's eyes widened, and she walked straight up to Draco and slapped him.

Draco grabbed Hermione's wrist roughly. Hermione became frightened quickly. She always knew Draco to be a jerk, but she had never seen him this angry before.

"Filthy mudblood!" Draco pushed her into an empty compartment next to them. Hermione struggled to get free, but that only made him grip her tighter. Draco's silver eyes filled with malice. Hermione winced in pain under his grasp.

"D-Draco," she whispered as tears began to fill her eyes "You're h-hurting me."

He stopped and looked into her eyes. Did she just call me by my first name?, he thought. Oh no. He looked at what he was doing and suddenly felt sorry for her. He loosened his grip, but didn't let go just yet. He had never realized how beautiful she was until now. She had grown alot over the years. She was shorter than he was, and was thin but curvey. Her hair was a bit longer and less frizzy than it had been before. Her eyes were like pools of chocolate, and accented her face in such a way that it made her look like a goddess.

Hermione looked at him. In just a few moments his eyes had gone from a cold and lifeless grey, to eyes that were warm and caring. She had never been this close to him. She was so close she could feel his minty breath on her face. His bare, chisled chest was pressed against her. As she looked at him and his 5' 11 frame, she didn't see the cruelness she usually saw. She saw a kindness in him. He looked almost angelic with his pale skin, blonde hair, and silver eyes. His eyes were what captivated her the most.

"I-I'm sorry," he said in a barely audible whisper. Realizing who he was with, who he was looking at with longing and desire, he let go of her completely and walked briskly out of the room.

Hermione stayed in the same spot against the wall of the compartment staring at the doorway as if she was waiting for him to come back. After a few minutes she came back to her senses and began to walk to her compartment. She looked at her wrists. They were red and were beginning to show bruises. I have to hide them from Harry and Ron. If they see them, they'll go ballistic. Especially Harry, she thought to herself. She took out her wand and uttered a spell that would hide her bruises before opening the door to her compartment.

"Are you alright Hermione?," Ginny asked as soon as Hermione sat back down next to her. Hermione looked much paler than she had when she left.

Hermione smiled. "I'm fine Ginny."

Ginny smiled at Hermione before re-immersing herself in the conversation with her brother and Harry.

Hermione didn't say much on the way back, just a few "Mm-hm"s and "yup"s every now and then. She stared out of the window at the passing landscapes thinking about those eyes, those brilliant silver eyes.