A/N: Thank - you very much to Redbird for another review! And I do realize that I have changed Malfoy's personality a little, it's just that something happened that summer that changed him (but you'll have to wait to find out what that is! ^_^) And I was just trying to show how he's struggling with trying to be who he always was and his new side that has developed because of what has happened. Please be patient with me, ok? I just hope I don't disappoint anyone by changing his persona a little. And I'm sorry about Emily, *I didn't realize I was doing that, so thanks for letting me know!! ^_^* I'll try and make this chapter better, k? And here we go!

Disclaimer: Don't own anything that you may recognize to be the wonderfully talented JK Rowling's. I only own the plot and any characters you've never heard of before. So, with that being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I wish you all the best in the new year!

Chapter 6: At Second Glance

Just as Emily had entered the entrance way, she met Hermione, Harry and Ron coming down the staircase.

"Morning," Hermione said brightly.

Emily looked up at the three from the bottom of the stairs before quickly lowering her head to try and hide the few stray tears that might happen to be still on her cheek. She looked up at them once again when they had reached the bottom of the stairs and forced a smile onto her face. "Mornin' guys."

Harry looked at her carefully, "Are you alright? You don't look like you got much sleep."

Emily looked at him and took in a gulp of air. "No, I'm - I'm fine," she lied.

Harry looked towards the doors where he had seen her enter and then looked down to her broom that she was gripping tightly with her right hand. "Where were you just now?"

Emily rocked on her feet a little to show her uneasiness. She didn't really want to tell Harry the truth because she wanted to deal with her problems on her own. "I....well, I was just out for a morning ride over the Quidditch Field. Just getting a little fresh air, you know?" She was telling the truth - just not what happened after her morning ride.

Harry nodded, but not totally convinced that she was speaking honestly.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I could eat a bloody hippogriff," Ron spoke up while rubbing his stomach.

Hermione nodded over to Harry and Emily. "Shall we go, then?" she grabbed a hold of Harry's hand and looked up at him.

Harry looked down at his girlfriend, smiled and nodded.

The four Gryffindors started their way into the Great Hall when all of a sudden the front door of the school opened again.

Harry looked back and saw Malfoy entering into the entrance way. He stopped to turn back causing the rest of them all to follow his gaze.

Emily turned back to see Malfoy's entrance and she didn't want to have to confront him. "Harry, come on," she said grabbing hold of his arm and trying to lead him into the dining hall. She really did not want to be here right now.

Harry saw how flustered she became and he pulled away from her. "Did you by any chance happen to meet Malfoy out at the Quidditch pitch?"

Emily went to say something but all that came out of her mouth was air.

"What did he do to you? Did he say something?" Harry grabbed hold of her shoulders gently and tried to make her look him in the eyes. "Did he hurt you? Cause if he did, I swear-"

"Blimey!" Ron broke Harry's sentence. "Look at the side of his face!"

The rest of them turned to face Malfoy. The left side of his face was completely red and slightly bruised.

"Shut the hell up Weasley," Malfoy stated as he passed the gang. As he walked by Emily he looked her in the eye and his jaw stiffened. He looked like he was about to say something, but Emily didn't want to hear it. So, she turned away from him.

Malfoy just shut his mouth and with another short glance at her, he stalked away in the direction of his room.

Ron turned to Emily, "Please tell me you did that?"

Emily had this guilty look overcome her face and she reddened a bit.

All three of her friends smiled.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Ron was grinning. "That bastard will think twice before coming around you again."

Harry looked down at her and smiled, "It seems like you can uphold your own." He then turned to Hermione, and put his arm around her. "Well, what do you say that we go and have something to eat?"

There were smiles all around as the gang entered the dining hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table.

**********

Emily was actually in all the same classes as the others - except where Harry and Ron took Divination, her and Hermione took Arithmancy. She really enjoyed all of her classes that morning and early afternoon, (she was introduced to Hagrid whom she was a little timid of at first but then by the end of the lesson she knew how the other three had grown to like him so much).

However, she was pre-warned about their last class of the day which happened to be double potions. Harry and Ron sat at the same table, and Hermione and Emily sat just in front of them. Within the first five minutes, Emily could see why they all hated the class. First of all, there was their greasy haired professor, Snape, and to top it off, they had class with the Slytherins. She could immediately feel the intense atmosphere as Snape introduced to the class what they would be working on for the first semester and that he had an arranged seating plan for them.

"Argh, what is it with Snape and his stupid seating plans," Ron moaned.

As Snape continued calling out names, Emily felt that strange feeling again - like she was being watched. She turned and saw Malfoy's eyes directed right at her. His eyes were clouded over as if he was in some sort of trance and had an unreadable expression on his face.

"Malfoy, Black." Snape called out. But then looking to see that Malfoy hadn't gotten up to take Hermione's empty seat (who had to work with Pansy), he called out again - only this time louder. "MALFOY!"

Draco snapped out of his state of mind and looked mindlessly at the professor. "Sorry professor?"

"You're with Black," and he pointed towards Emily.

Malfoy got up and moved his cauldron and things over beside Emily as Snape began scribbling the names of ingredients up on the board.

Malfoy began unpacking his things and he bent in close to her and said, "So, I guess this means that you don't get rid of me after all. One of things that I bet your friend Potter forgot to mention is that a Malfoy always gets what he wants."

Emily continued writing the ingredients onto her paper and without looking up she said, "Oh, and what might that be? Another slap across the face?"

Malfoy grinned, "No, but perhaps something else would be sufficient...how about..." and then he whispered a few words in her ear that made her blush and her eyes rage with fury. She tried very hard not to stun him with her wand and after a few deep breaths...

Malfoy was quite enjoying himself. Perhaps he would have a bit of fun with her. After all, she is a Gryffindor, and they only deserve to get picked on. Especially after what she had done to him that morning. He was now in the right place to do it because Snape never took away any points from Slytherins. His grin widened as he placed his hand on her thigh.

Emily's jaw tightened as she snapped the end of her quill. She quickly slapped his hand away and whispered so that only he could hear, "Why don't you go curse yourself?"

"Ah, you are quite the witty one, aren't you?"

"I've had just about enough of you Malfoy. I swear-!"

But professor Snape had cut her off. "Miss Black! Thirty points from Gryffindor for talking when your supposed to be working!"

Emily's jaw dropped, "But professor-!"

"Now it's fifty points!" he said in a much louder tone. "And I can assure you that if I hear you utter one more word, I will have you in detention!"

Emily knew when to keep her mouth shut and she didn't say anything more. She looked over at Hermione who gave her an sympathetic look.

She then scowled at Draco who looked over at her but to her surprise did not smile. He looked almost regretful. However, she gave him the dirtiest look she could muster just the same.

"I can't believe that. It wasn't even my fault!" Emily walked out of the classroom with her friends.

"Don't worry about it. Snape has it in for all the Gryffindors. He's always been like that," Harry assured her coming up from behind.

They walked past Pansy who was hanging on Draco's arm complaining about how she should be his partner and gave Emily a scowl as she passed.

"What's with her?" she asked Harry quietly.

"She thinks that she owns Malfoy. Good riddins is all I can say," Harry gave a small smile and pulled Hermione closer to him as they walked up to the main floor and into the great hall for supper all the while complaining about their potions partners.

**********

The next week seemed to drag by for Emily. She definitely did not look forward to going to potions. However, she did notice that as time went by, Malfoy started to become nicer and nicer to her. Did she dare say it? He was almost being a gentleman towards her - offering to go and get the ingredients, taking down the notes while she set up, and what surprised her most was that he never once attempted to get her into trouble after the first day.

However, even though he was attempting to be nice to her, she didn't want to give him the satisfaction. She had too much pride to be nice to him now - especially after what he had said to her on the Quidditch Pitch. But for some reason, her ignoring him at all costs just didn't seem to stop him from his somewhat kinder actions towards her.

Emily was now keeping herself busy by completing assignments and studying with Hermione in the library and common room, (and when they felt like joining) Ron and Harry as well.

One night after a particularly exhausting evening of finishing up a report for potions, Emily said good-night to Hermione, Ron and Harry as they all left to go off to bed. Emily climbed the stairs up to her dormitory and quietly put all her books away and changed into her pyjamas. She then pulled her covers back and crawled into bed. She flopped down onto her pillow with a light plop and fell asleep almost instantly.

It was only a couple of hours later that Emily woke up gasping for breath and close to tears. Her hair fell in loose tangles down her back and she tried to calm herself but for some reason couldn't. She had dreamt about her mother - about finding her lifeless body on the floor of her bedroom. She put her face in her hands trying to push the image out of her mind. She then lowered her hands and stared blankly into the darkness. She glanced over towards the window and saw that the sky was still dark and she could just make out the stars in the sky.

She knew that there was no way that she could get back to sleep after a nightmare like that. She swallowed hard and pushed herself out of bed. She pulled on a blue hooded sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants. She grabbed her wand from her cloak and walked down into the common room and escaped out the portrait of the fat lady.

That night, Malfoy had also woke up with a start. It had been the same dream that he had lived with for the whole summer, but this time was a little different. Before the dream that he was so familiar with, he envisioned a cloaked figure pointing at him with his wand and telling him to kill.

"Kill...kill...KILL!" the voice had demanded of him. He then all of a sudden felt a pain in his arm and looked down at it only to find that the dark mark was glowing brightly and burning his flesh. He felt unbearable pain as he refused the commanding voice and then he found himself cast away...and then he was in the forbidden forest looking at the wolf...

Malfoy shut his eyes and tightened his jaw. Just then, he felt a figure beside him. He looked over and saw Pansy lying beside him. She was snoring lightly in deep sleep.

Malfoy groaned slightly as he remembered the night before. He shook his head and pushed himself out of his side of the bed careful not to wake Pansy. He wasn't in the mood to answer questions. He needed some fresh air.

He quickly pulled on some clothes and his cloak as he slipped out of his room and out the front doors of the school.

He walked slowly across the grounds thinking about what had happened to him over the summer. He had received the dark mark and was assigned to complete his first task with his father. Killing...he thought he could do it. In fact he was certain that he was ready to kill for his master. But something happened to him...he...he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He had looked into her eyes and had seen a fear beyond anything else that he had ever seen before...he just...couldn't...do it.

Malfoy shoved his hands into his pockets as he sighed and looked up towards the lake. He was very surprised to see a figure sitting near the water's edge. His curiosity getting the better of him, he started over towards the lake.

Emily was sitting on the ground with her knees up to her chest and her chin resting upon them. She was softly humming to herself a lullaby that she remembered from when she was little. Her mother had always sang it to her if she was having trouble getting to sleep. She always found it a great comfort to hear.

She held her wand in her right hand and was waving it in beat with the lullaby as different coloured figures escaped from the end - a sort of story that went along with the lullaby. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes began to sting with tears. She tried to push them away but a couple escaped down her cheek. But she continued on with the lullaby just the same.

"May I join you?" a voice asked from beside her.

Emily quickly wiped away the dancing figures in front of her and looked up to whom was speaking. She let out a quick breath when she looked up into the face of Draco Malfoy. "Listen, Malfoy, I'm not in the mood for any of your bullshit alright? So why don't you just save your breath and leave me alone." She looked back towards the lake.

"Who said that I was here to bother you?" Malfoy asked looking at her and taking a seat down besides her anyways.

"And who said that you could sit down?" Emily asked in a harsh tone not taking her eyes from that calm waters.

Malfoy sat silent for a moment before he moved to get back up to his feet, "Fine. You don't want me here? Then I'll leave."

Emily heard the slight hurt in his voice as he got to his feet and before realizing what she was doing her hand reached out and grabbed a hold of his arm lightly. "No, you don't have to go. Listen, I'm sorry, okay?" She looked up at Malfoy as he looked back down at her.

"It's just that...I'm exhausted but I can't sleep. So I'm sorry for taking it out on you just now." She looked over at him sitting in the spot beside her. "I just thought that you...well...that you had come to annoy me again."

Malfoy gave her a half smile - a genuine one instead of just one of his smirks that she had all so often seen from him this past week.

Emily looked at him carefully and saw a softness in his eyes - one that she has never seen before. She finally opened her mouth to ask what's been on her mind all week. "Malfoy, I'm curious about one thing." She looked at him before continuing, "Why were you such a pain towards me on the first day and then all of a sudden you were being nice to me?" She saw him searching carefully for his answer. "I mean, all I've heard about you is...well..." she didn't want to sound judgemental.

"I know. I've heard them all," he interrupted her when she couldn't find the words to end her sentence. "Well, let's just say that people can change. But it's a lot easier to change around those who don't have a set mind about you already." He paused slightly before looking out towards the water. "And I'm sorry for about what I said on the Quidditch Pitch that first day. Boy, you don't know how sorry I am," he added with a small smile while rubbing his cheek that was still slightly bruised.

Emily couldn't help but laugh a little. "Yeah...umm...I'm sorry about that too. It was just a reflex and I didn't really know I had done it until I actually slapped you."

Malfoy shrugged, "I deserved it."

"No," Emily shook her head. "I should've been able to control my temper better. I should have just walked away."

Malfoy then looked over at her with gentle eyes, "Why did what I say bother you so much?"

Emily looked at him thoughtfully as a sad look swept over her face. "I don't really want to talk about it..." she said quietly.

Malfoy nodded in understanding, 'It must be painful for her to talk about it,' he thought silently as he looked at the pained expression on her face. He knew what pain felt like - he had lived with that feeling all too much.

A piece of hair fell over Emily's face as she glanced downwards during the awkward silence between them.

Draco saw this and he gently tucked it back behind her ear. This brought his face a little closer towards hers and she looked up to meet his eyes. His eyes shone into hers and she could see that they no longer seemed to hold a menacing look. Again that feeling swept over her.

Their heads drew closer together until finally their lips met. It was unlike a feeling Emily had ever experienced before. The numbness started in her lips and flowed throughout her body. Somehow - it was a very sweet feeling.

Draco's hand went up to the side of her face and gently caressed it. He had never experienced this feeling before while with any other girl. He definitely liked this.

By the time that they slowly broke apart both their hearts were beating rapidly. Malfoy maintained her eye contact and saw her blush a little. He smiled at her innocence and so did she. He was now running his fingers through her long hair and gently wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to him so that she was now in his arms.

She didn't object and rested comfortably in his strong but gentle embrace. Neither of them said anything. It seemed that when they had shared that kiss - something happened. It was like they understood each other and were connected from the moment that their lips had touched.

They just simply sat there contentedly staring out across the lake until early morning, wrapped in each other's arms.