Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Warnings: Scenes of a sexual nature

Spoilers:SS/PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OoTP

Summary: Before starting his 7th year of Hogwarts, Draco is given the challenge of ridding Voldemort of Harry Potter in order to join the Deatheaters. What unexpected surprises does his plan hold? DMHG

In the Eyes of the Enemy- Chapter Four The Long Ride to Hogwarts

Hermione turned to face him, caught off guard at the feel of his hand holding hers, and replied, "You're right, I should be calling you Draco now, we will be working together a lot this year. It would look better if we called each other by our first names as it would show more of a unified front."

Draco cast her a smile, one of the first she could ever remember seeing. It suited his face as it softened his features and showed a layer of boyish charm she hadn't thought he possessed. Her gaze was broken when he spoke. "Well we had better get outside and give Hagrid a hand, catching any stray first years who have run off in terror of the big oaf." Hermione frowned, 'Same old Malfoy.' She turned to head down the corridor, not realizing that it was only after his last comment that she had let go of his hand.

As they headed out of the train and out toward the lake, Draco berated himself for insulting the overgrown Care of Magical Creatures teacher whom he had never cared for, but who, he had to remind himself, was Hermione's friend. That one comment had undone all the work he had done that afternoon to get her to believe he had changed and thus befriend him. Draco knew he would have to keep his cool around Potter and Weasley since breaking into their group was part of his master plan, but he had forgotten how many others he would need to guard himself against insulting.

This first day was the most important, in his mind, to the success of the plan. He would have the best chance of getting the trio to believe he was different after an absense of a few months. People often change during their periods away from the confines of school and Draco was banking on this fact to help with his transition from, in their minds, Malfoy that slimy Slytherin to Draco the friend you can trust.

Once all the first years were settled in their boats preparing to cross the lake Draco and Hermione collected their trunks and headed over to the last horseless carriage that waited to take them alone to Hogwarts.

Draco loaded their trunks onto the back of the carriage then turned to carefully lift her up. As he held her around the waist he noticed that she did indeed have the small frame he imagined her to posses, but he was surprised to discover her hips had a slight curve that would otherwise go unnoticed under all her robes. Once she was inside he pulled himself in and decided against sitting across from her in favor of sitting beside her.

The trip up to the castle was long and winding and since the incident on the train neither had spoke more than few words to the other. Draco had looked out into the dark night trying to find the right words to say to smooth over his misstep earlier, but unable to find the right words, he had opted instead for silence. He was distracted from his gazing when he felt a soft thump on his shoulder. He turned his head to the side and noticed Hermione had nodded off to sleep and her head had found its way onto his shoulder.

With care not to disrupt her slumber, Draco gently leaned back, allowing her head to slide off his shoulder and onto his lap. He placed a protective arm around her so she wouldn't fall onto the floor should they come across any rough terrain.

Draco found himself constantly gazing down at Hermione's sleeping form. She had soft brown hair with a slight reddish tint. Her skin was not pale, as his often tended to be, but was instead more of a light coffee. There were a few freckles across her nose and forehead. He also noticed she didn't wear nearly as much makeup as he was accustomed to seeing on girls her age. In fact she had only had a light layer of brown eye shadow, and from the shimmer of her lips, what appeared be clear lip-gloss. She was quite beautiful and Draco wondered to himself why he had never noticed this fact before. However, as the light from the torches surrounding the castle illuminated the carriage, Draco remembered why they were at Hogwarts, she was a mudblood in Gryffindor, and he was a pureblood in Slytherin.

"Hermione, wake up. We're almost at the castle." Draco gave her a soft shake. Hermione rubbed her head softly in his lap as if it were a pillow. As she opened her eyes and glanced up, she realized where she was and sat bolt upright.

Stammering, she asked, "How did I? What happened? What was I doing there in your lap?" There was a look of horror on her face.

Draco soothingly said, "Calm down Hermione. You fell asleep on my shoulder so I merely moved you a bit so you wouldn't wake up with a terrible kink in your neck. Nothing happened and I'm sorry if you're upset, but I was just trying to help."

Still nervous and biting her lip, Hermione replied, "No, I'm sorry for dozing off, but thank you for being so.... thoughtful."

With a wave Draco stopped her from continuing. "It was nothing... you're welcome."

The last few minutes passed in silence as the carriage pulled up to the front of the castle. Draco hopped down first and then reached up to help her out, this time his hand traveled up her waist and brushed passed her breasts, which he noticed were larger than he expected for someone so small. After this exchange Hermione blushed and turned away from him. She made her way toward the back of the carriage to gather her belongings. However, she was too late as she saw the last of the house elves disappear with a pop holding their trunks.

Draco called from the doorway, "Come on Hermione, I can see the lights from the boats. They're almost here and we need to get to the Great Hall before they do." Hermione also noted the closeness of the boats and hurried inside the castle.