A/N: This is the prequel part to Known Better, that's why it's been tacked on to the original. Since everyone asked so nicely I wrote a sort of follow up to detailing what led Hermione to become a Death Eater and such. Hope you enjoy! Don't forget to review.

Disclaimer: I don't own it. Do you think I'd be writing fanfiction if I did?

Basic Principles, Part One

Hermione stood looking at the grave of one of her best friends and felt no regret. Not even one small tinge of guilt.

It was, of course, her fault that Ron lay six feet below her in a casket surrounded by dirt of the earth. She was the one who had convinced him to stay over at the break and lured him into her bed with their false relationship and broken promises. His love for her was what ultimately led him to his downfall. All she'd had to do was look at him with her big dark eyes and bring a coaxing finger forth and he came willingly. A black widow would be proud.

It was Lucius who had done the deed while she stood watching and knowing that it was only a small sacrifice compared to what would be hers in the end. Hermione and Ron's body had then been taken to the basement of the Riddle House where she waited patiently for Harry to come. He had, and Hermione had gone back into the arms of the good side, and away from Draco, playing the part of the poor kidnapped victim whose best friend had been slain.

Everything had worked out in the end though, and she now stood two years later in the new memorial cemetery that had been built to house all the casualties of the war, Auror and Death Eater alike. It had been her husband's very first act after being appointed Minister of Magic.

Yes, she was now married to Draco and she had given birth to a beautiful baby boy a little over a year ago. In addition to Draco being the Minister, Hermione herself was now Head of the Magical Law Enforcement.

There was no doubt that life was pretty good right now, and while most people were happy for her and held the quite famous couple in high esteem, a few were still skeptical about where the two had actually stood during the war. They had been accused of everything from taking bribes, which Draco snidely replied "Malfoys? Take bribes? When we're filthy rich already?," to being privy to all of Voldemort's secret plans. No evidence had ever been found and no charges had ever been filed.

And while only Draco and Hermione knew the exact specifics of where they were and what they went through in war-time, there was something about where Hermione was now situated that even her husband did not know: Everything she had was the result from years of meticulous planning.

This is her story.

When Hermione had been a small child, a young girl of only five or six, she asked her mother about marriage, and so her mother had sat down and explained the basic principles of life to her. The first thing she had told her daughter had been every girl needs a good husband. Someone who would take care of her and protect her, but let her be her own person at the same time. The second thing had been to make sure your good husband is also handsome. After all, this is the person who would be contributing half of their genes into your children. No one wants ugly children. The third thing in the husband category and probably the most important was to make sure your husband was able to balance your life. You don't want somebody who would hold you back from going as far as you can.

This made sense to Hermione. Her parents were equally matched with their lucrative dental practice and a happy marriage, so it must work. She took this advice to heart, but didn't really think about it often until much later when she stepped on the Hogwarts Express for the first time. Just that one train ride was a life-changing and shocking experience in a number of ways.

The most obvious one was meeting Harry and Ron for the first time, the two boys who would later become her best friends. She had bossed them around about spells and then proceeded to bore them with her background reading on the school and the magical world at-large. She had actually read more books than just the ones she'd listed. Prominent Magical Families and The Pureblood Legacy came to mind. The latter had been where she'd originally found out the disdainful attitude purebloods had towards witches and wizards of Muggle descent.

Then, later that same day, she first met Draco Malfoy.

Her initial impression of him was wondering how such a small boy could have such a commanding aura. She had popped into his compartment searching still for Neville's perpetually lost toad and was just about to ask if he'd seen him when his cold eyes stopped her dead in her tracks. She'd never seen eyes like that anywhere, so gray and stormy. Her observation was cut short when the boy whose eyes she'd been admiring jumped up from his seat and ordered her to leave. She'd huffed about it but eventually did what he demanded.

It wasn't until later, when he reappeared with Crabbe and Goyle, she discovered who he was and more specifically, who his family was. She was fascinated by him ever after that. To actually meet the sole heir of a pureblood family featured in her books was to Hermione like someone else coming across a celebrity by chance.

Hermione saw everything in an academic capacity anyway. She thought she could maybe talk to him one day and he could tell her all about his family history and traditions. However, after she befriended Harry and Ron, this became quite impossible, and she had to bury all her fascination under a layer of false hatred.

Then, there was the Mudblood incident.

Everything changed after it, and she was always aggravated with him for not acting the way she thought he should. His time around the other Slytherins had only served in making him a bully and the powerful boy she'd first met faded little by little. Soon, he was nothing but rude, spiteful, and arrogant, strutting around the castle like a puffed-up peacock.

So, she'd slapped him.

Hermione was hoping the sharp smack would knock some sense into him and he'd start acting equal to what she believed of him, stop being so cruel and begin to show some dignity. It shut him up for a while, but not forever.

With the Triwizard Tournament in fourth year, all Draco's energies were focused again on Harry and making him miserable. Many times, she and Ron got caught in the crossfire, and it seemed to confirm where she stood with him and how she felt about it. He could care less and that was fine with her, but then the Yule Ball turned everything on its head.

He stared, along with most of the school, at her transformation with wide eyes and an open mouth. It made it very difficult for her to pay attention to Viktor when she could sense Draco watching and this time, not with hatred. It pleased her in a purely feminine way that she had never felt before. After bickering with Ron, she observed him walk through the double-doors into the garden outside. Intrigued, she decided to follow him at a safe distance. He just meandered at first, but she soon realized he had a destination in mind. He came to a stop in front of a cluster of lavender bushes, breathing in the scent with a sigh.

Under the moonlit sky, she really studied him. He was starting to show signs of the man he would be and his posture was something of grace and elegance. Standing there, she could hardly believe this was the same person who brought her such misery on a daily basis. He seemed to be a perfect angel. In that moment, she could see who and what he would become, the power he radiated and the confidence he personified. Unbidden, her mother's words came flying back to her. And for the first time in all her years, Hermione made a rash decision.

She vowed to get to him, really get to him, and one day become his wife.

Afterwards, she began to drop hints, ask to borrow a book while casually bumping into him at the library and keeping Harry and Ron from throwing punches at him every time there was a skirmish. Draco repeatedly rejected and insulted her, but she knew in advance that it was going to take some time. All of this was done subtly of course, away from the eyes of distrustful best friends.

Hermione continued to wear him down through fifth year as they shared their prefect duties and on into sixth. He gave inch by mere inch in her struggle to gain his trust. It was late in sixth year when she realized how far they had come. A small peck on the cheek during a late-night study session in the prefect common room had rapidly escalated into a sexual experience of pure bliss. She was fulfilled by him in ways she didn't even know were lacking. He sated her yearning for an equal.

Little more than a week later, after the exam results were in, they parted before each had to return to their respective houses to pack for the train. As Hermione walked out the door of their concealed room, she noticed him watching her with a lingering gaze, and suddenly, she knew.

He would come for her.

He did, appearing out of thin air on her doorstep in the middle of summer holidays. She listened while Draco pleaded his case to her. He rambled on about there having to be balance in everything and how the wizarding world was currently uneven. Some of the things he said made perfect sense to her, but she was still unsure. She cast inside herself to search out any loyalty to the side of Harry and Dumbledore, and she felt it, like a low hum not nearly as strong or dominant as it once was. There was something else there though, and she knew what her choice would be. It wasn't about doing the right thing anymore; it was about doing the right thing for her future with him. She would go with him to his side and hatch a plan that would get them both through this war in one piece. It wouldn't do to switch sides and then have him die on her.

She was in love with him, after all.

A/N: Okay. No, this is not the end. There is a second part to Basic Principles, but I can't post it here since I really don't want my account to be frozen for posting a NC-17 fic. Since it won't let me post a link for some reason, you'll have to email me, and I'd be happy to send it to you. You can find my email on my profile. Sorry in advance for the many loopholes I'm trying to go through. Please review!