Because of You

"Memory

All alone in the moonlight

I can smile at the old days

I was beautiful then

I remember the time I knew what happiness was

Let the memory live again"

- Memory from Cats

Chapter 2 – The Truth Hurts

Hermione walked towards the common room alone, passing groups of chattering first years on the way. She gave the password to the Hat Lady and walked across the common room quickly, not wanting to be late for her next class. As she was leaving, her eyes were drawn to a small heap of books and papers stacked in the corner. Laying on the very top of the pile was the blue cover book Hermione had seen Harry writing in.

She checked over her shoulder, listening for anybody. When she was sure nobody was there, she went over to the pile and lifted the book in her hands. The journal had a shiny green cover. Nothing was written on the front. She inhaled slowly, and then slowly opened the book. Her eyes were first drawn to the thin grey paper that was bounded inside. The writing was large and messy, going astray here and there,

She read the first page:

She was in the Great Hall today, talking to Ron. She was so beautiful, her hair falling on her shoulders, and her gorgeous eyes. I wish I could tell her that I like her, but I don't think I have the courage too. I have defeated Voldemort many times, yet I still don't have the bravery to tell a girl I like her. Maybe it's because I don't know if she likes me, or the fact that she's going out with my friend. I don't know what Im going to do.

Hermione read the words slowly and carefully, taking in everything. She didn't want to turn to the next page, she felt so guilty after reading just that page. She closed the book and put it down just like it had been before she had picked it up.

She walked out of the common room and down towards the classroom where her next lesson was taking place.

"Granger..." Said a drawling as she turned the corner of one particularly long corridor. Hermione stopped and turned around quickly. As she did, her book bag swung from her and landed on the floor, it's contents spilling onto the stone floor.

Draco looked at her, trying hard not to laugh.

"Listen," He started, having trouble breathing from holding in his laughter, "I just want to apologize for Potions. I was a bit of an idiot."

Hermione glared at him then bend over to pick up her books. She looked back up, "You? A bit of an idiot? Why would you ever say that, Malfoy?" She replied sarcastically.

"Damn Mudblood..." Draco mumbled.

"Excuse me?!" Hermione shouted as she stood up again, her book bag over her shoulder once again and her wand now pointed at Draco's chest.

"Nothing..." Draco began saying as Professor Snape walked around the corner.

"Malfoy...Granger..." He began, his voice quiet and piercing in the silence, "And why are you two not in class?"

Hermione stood, seemingly becoming very interested in her fingernail. Draco looked over at her and scowled at her.

"Granger here just ran into me." He replied coldly, looking straight at Snape.

"I see..." Said Snape as he looked at Draco, then at Hermione, "Normally wouldn't let two students get away like this without detention, and today there will be no exception. Both of in my office at 8 tonight." He took on last look at Draco and left down the hall.

"Great job, Malfoy." Shot Hermione as she started walking briskly towards the History of Magic class.

"And that was my fault because...?" Malfoy replied, looking over at Hermione.

"You should have come up with some better excuse. You always get in trouble." Said Hermione.

"Yeah right." He mumbled as he walked into a classroom on the left.

Hermione picked up her pace and came to the classroom a few minutes later. She walked through the already open door and was greeted with the sound of absolute silence. She looked around, spotted Ron and Harry and went over to their desk. She down at a desk in front of the one Ron and Harry sat at and took out her notebook.

"Where's Professor Binns?" She asked while looking around the room.

"Not here yet." Harry answered.

Good, thought Hermione, she couldn't be late the first History of Magic class even if it was the dullest subject she was taking.

"Hey Hermione," Whispered Ron, his fiery red hair hid his eyes as he leaned across the wooden desk, "A bunch of us are going to go play a game of Quidditch later tonight, wanna join us?"

She was about to say yes when she remember that she had detention with Snape at 8. She groaned.

"I can't." She said, "I have detention tonight."

Harry dropped his mouth. "Hermione, you got detention on the first day of school? With who?"

She quickly told them about running into Draco in the hall and Snape running into them.

"That sucks." Said Ron, as Professor Binns lazily drifted through the wall and once more started the lesson in his boring droning voice.

Ninety minutes later the bell rang and Hermione jumped at the loud noise that had stopped her train of thought. What had she been thinking about? Harry. She smiled and left the room, walking quickly as to catch up with Harry and Ron, telling them that she would meet them later in the common room.

After her lessons, she ran into Ginny, who was talking with some other 5th years.

"Hey Hermione!" She yelled above the chatter, as she ran over to her, her long red hair swinging across her back.

"Hey Ginny," Hermione replied, "What's up?"

"Oh, not too much," said Ginny, "Are you playing Quidditch later?"

Hermione once again, told her the story of her detention.

"Oh well, Ron'll be disappointed. He wanted to finally beat you at something." Ginny laughed, her cheeks dimpling at the side. Hermione had to admit, Ginny was very pretty. But she had never been jealous of her, they were best friends.

"Hey Ginny, you'll never guess what." She paused, "Harry likes somebody."

Ginny grinned, "Hahah, Harry's so funny. Did he actually tell you?"

"Well, not really," said Hermione, "I asked him if anything was wrong, and then he told me, but he was kind of hesitant."

"Well if you find out who it is, tell me!" Yelled Ginny, who was already leaving with the group of girls.

Hermione walked to the Gryffindor common room in a happy mood. She had no homework, and she was sure Harry liked her. Even the thought of going to detention with Draco later couldn't upset her.

She stepped into the large room. Some first years were sitting in a circle by the fire whispering excitedly about something. Seamus and Neville were lounging on puffy burgundy chairs scribbling notes. She walked up the stairs to her dormitory. Sitting on the bed she absentmindedly started stroked Crookshanks. She looked over at the clock; it was 7:20. I might as well leave, she thought, as she stood up and left the room.

She walked down the hall, which looked empty and lonely in the darkness that was now surrounding the castle. She arrived at Snape's office early and decided to sit down outside the door instead of going inside. A little while later she was disturbed by Malfoy, who had just arrived there, his face tinged pink from cold.

"Where were you?" She asked suspiciously.

"Outside." He replied quickly before reaching out his hand to help her up. Hermione glared at him and got up herself, ignoring his offered hand. Why was he being so nice to her? She thought as she walked into Snape's office behind Draco.

Why am I being so nice to her? Draco thought disgustingly. She's a Mudblood, and she's the reason why I'm here in the first place. He took at seat at one of the chairs places around a small black table in the corner of Snape's office. Hermione sat at the chair opposite him, avoiding his stare. They could hear Snape rustling papers in the back room of his office. Draco coughed and Snape appeared from the doorway. He grinned maliciously at them.

"So I think you both know why you're here." He said while stacking things on his desk.

Hermione was going to say otherwise but thought better of it. Hopefully Snape was only going to keep them her for an hour, meaning she would still have time to play Quidditch with the other Gryffindors.

Draco didn't say anything either, just peered around Snape's office looking bored.

"Since you're both here and because I want to start something new in class, I've decided that you two will be testing the Truth Potions we made earlier today. Just take turns drinking the serum and asking each other questions," He paused, looking evilly at Hermione, "The potion will wear off after a few minutes, and then you can test another one." Snape lifted a box holding the bottle of truth potions and left the room.

"This is just great." Stated Draco as he picked up a bottle filled with a think purple potion that certainly did not look like truth serum.

"Alright, well, I guess we better get started. You can go first." Hermione smiled at Draco.

Draco scowled at her, but thought better than to say anything. He wanted to get out of here, and if they started now they could leave sooner. He uncorked the bottle labeled Seamus and Patil and drank half of the contents. The potion felt like ice going down his throat and left an odd taste in his mouth.

"Okay, ask me something. But remember I can ask you something even worse later." He grinned at her.

"Fine," said Hermione, rested her arms on the table and thinking, "Who do you hate?"

Draco sighed; this truth stuff didn't work all that well, "Harry Potter." He lied, looking at her like she was stupid for not knowing that.

"Okay," Said Hermione, taking out a bottle and drinking the liquid.

"Who was your first kiss?" Asked Draco, who immediately regretted it as images of Hermione snogging someone filled his head. Hermione dropped her mouth.

"I can't believe you." She muttered. "I can't tell you." She said, surprised that she had beaten the truth potion.

"This stuff doesn't work." She stated.

"No kidding." Replied Draco, "Why don't we just drink all of it at once?"

Hermione looked at him. "You're kidding right?"

"Well, no, it would work much faster and we could be out of here much sooner."

That's a good idea, thought Hermione, as she grabbed bottles of the truth serum and lined them up in front of them on the table.

"So we each drink four bottles. Okay?" She asked Draco.

"Yeah, okay, go." Said Draco as he took the first small bottle and downed its contents. The potion felt like slimy ice going down his throat. He coughed just before taking the next bottle and drinking that too. Meanwhile, Hermione had already drunk all four bottles and their contents and was feeling rather sick.

Draco smirked before asking her the four words she will come to hate much later. "So Granger...who do you like?"

Hermione looked at him. "Harry." She uttered, before slapping her hands over her mouth. Draco grinned evilly.

"Fine, Malfoy. Who do you like?" She looked at him.

"You." He said.

Hermione was not sure if she had heard right. Did he just say he liked me? She thought wildly. No, he can't like me. I hate him. It's Malfoy for God's sake! Draco's grin slid off his face as he realized what he had told her. It had come out, and it was truth, he thought in despair. They looked at each other, yet not realizing it, for awhile before Snape walked back into the room, snarling.

"Malfoy. Granger. Your detention is over. Leave now." He said before pointing sharply at the door.

Hermione gathered herself up and left Snape's dreary office. Draco followed close behind her and turned left before Hermione could even look at him. Hermione continued walking right and finally came to the portrait of the Fat Lady. She stepped inside the common room and was surprised to see that Harry, Ron and Ginny were still up.

They were sitting on large pillows strewn on the floor, their homework lying in front of them. She walked over to them.

"Hey guys." She said wearily before plopping down on a cushy gold pillow.

"Hi Hermione." Squeaked Ginny, who was bouncing up and down on her pillow, obviously very excited about something. Hermione looked at her and raised her eyebrows.

"What are you so happy about?" She questioned. Ginny smiled at her before looking over at Harry who nodded. Hermione was obviously missing something here.

"Well, do you remember how you said that Harry liked someone?" She said, pausing to breath. "We're going out now." She smiled before turning to Harry and kissing him on the cheek. Harry blushed a bit and looked down.

Hermione stood there, stunned, and not for the first time that night. She looked between Harry and Ron and Ginny. The bright gold and red of the common room blended into a swirl of color. Her eyesight became blurry and she could hear Ron talking but could not understand him. She knew her eyes were tearing. She couldn't cry. Not in front of Harry. Harry. The boy she had liked ever since she had met him. The only boy she had probably gotten as close to as she gotten to him. She squinted her eyes shut, trying to make sense of the whole night.

"Hermione?" Said Ginny, peering at her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She replied before clumsily getting up and stumbling to her room.

"Bitch, bitch, bitch." She found herself muttering as she clawed through her bag looking for her pajamas. She gave up and collapsed onto the bed, tears rushing for her eyes.

"I hate her." She sobbed, before opening the opening the window and sitting on the sill. The sky was a dark blue and the moon lit the sky, illuminating the stars reflecting off the lake. She shivered as the cool night air covered her skin, enveloping her in cold air. Her breath rose in front of her and her tears felt like ice as they rolled down her cheek. She rested her head against the hard rock of the windowsill. After sitting there, unaware of how much time at gone by, she rolled back on her bed and fell into a deep uneasy sleep.

Hermione woke the next morning feeling refreshed and happy – only until she remembered what had happened the night before. She wanted to stay in bed forever, just lying there and not doing anything forever. She slowly pulled herself up until she was sitting and glanced around her. There was nobody else in the room so she got up and dressed quickly, hoping that she wasn't late for the second day of classes.

Walking down the halls; faces and colors became blurs before her eyes. In the Great Hall, she sat at the far end of the Gryffindor table, avoiding the harsh stares of her fellow classmates. She looked over at her so-called friends, laughing and talking with one another. Ron hadn't even looked at her this morning. Well, who would even want to look at me, she thought miserably. She knew she was a mess; she hadn't slept much at all last night.

She decided to gather herself up and walked over to Ron, Harry and Ginny.

"Hey Hermione," Said Ginny, "You look...tired."

"Just a bit." Replied Hermione; faking a smile.

"Hogsmeade visit this weekend." Said Harry, pointing to an orange sign posted on the side of the Great Hall. Hermione glanced at it. She would be going with Ron most likely. And Ginny with Harry, she thought furiously.

"Well, I think I'm going to go to class." Said Hermione as she gathered up her bags and stood.

"What's with her today?" Whispered Harry as Hermione walked away from the group.

She walked down the hallways slowly, thankful that nobody was in the halls. She hated Harry. She hated Ginny. She hated everyone. She hated life.

She had reached the Charms classroom very early and sat down heavily on a hard wooden chair in the corner of the class. She had pulled out her binder and was flipping through last year notes when she heard somebody walk in the room.

"What are you doing here?" She said, realizing who the person was.

Draco glared at her through his gleaming grey eyes. "Not much." He replied, looking down at the ground. Head still down, he walked over to a desk at the front of the class and picked up a shiny eagle feather quill. "Left this here yesterday." He said, twirling the quill with his fingers.

Hermione felt strangely out of place in the classroom alone with Draco. She hadn't talked to him since the episode last night, and was definitely not in the mood to talk about it.

"So..." Said Draco lightly. There was something different about him, thought Hermione. He seemed less proud, less stuck up. He seemed so different; he almost was acting like a real person.

"What's wrong?" She asked, looking right at him.

"What makes you think something's wrong?" He shot at her before turning away again. Hermione looked at him again, staring, puzzled, at his face. Then it clicked.

"Oh." She said carefully, "So when did you and Pansy break up?" His face softened a bit and he seemed to settle down.

"Last night." He mumbled.

"I'm sorry." Said Hermione; blankly before beginning to sort through her notes again. She noticed that Draco had not left yet. He stood by the desk still, leaning against a desk. A strand of his blond hair hung down over his face as he stared at the feather in his hands. Hermione watched him out of the corner of the eye. He still made no motion to leave.

"Hogsmeade visit this weekend." Said Draco; trying to bring Hermione into a conversation. She merely nodded. She was the most confusing person Draco had ever met. She was nice one day, then a total bitch the next. He looked at her amusedly.

"Are you going with anyone?" He asked; trying again to get something out of her. She just looked at him before muttering something under her breath and turning away again. "Okay, Granger, are you mad at me?"

"No." She said shortly. Well that's good, thought Draco, now if only I can get her to talk.

"No: to which question?" He asked.

She stared angrily at him, "Both."

"Want to go to Hogsmeade with me?" He asked. He couldn't believe he had just done it, yet he had. He amazed himself quite often.

"What?" She looked at him with her mouth open.

"Just as friends, you know..." He muttered, his pale cheeks turning light pink.

"Uh, okay." She answered. That would get back at Harry, she thought evilly. The look on his face when he saw her with Draco Malfoy would be priceless. "Actually, I would love to." She smiled sweetly, her pink lips turning up at the corners.

"Excellent." Replied Draco, a little bit surprised. He stood up and brushed his robes straight before walking over to the classroom door. "Bye Granger." He said, placing his hand on the doorknob. He opened the door to see Harry Potter and Ron Weasley standing there, books in hand.

Draco quickly walked by them, but not before shooting a cold glare in Harry's direction.

Ron and Harry walked over to the table that Hermione sat at.

"What was he doing here?" Ron asked awkwardly.

"I don't know, I was reading." Said Hermione, shaking her notes at them. They stopped talking as the rest of the class poured in.

The hour passed quickly. Hermione already knew everything Professor McGonagall was talking about, as she had studied a bit over the summer. When the bell rang she got up and left before Ron and Harry, who just looked at each other.

A/N: A bit longer than the first, I don't quite like it myself, but, oh well, Im tired and don't feel like writing it over again. The next chapter will be better, trust me, again.