Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter....okay...?

A/n: hey guys!! Yeah, yeah I haven't updated in a while, don't hate me... umm...I had a bunch of people over for a while and well, it was my birthday on Aug. 22nd so I had MORE people over...It's been crazy. Um....We have a Draco chapter now so...okay well let's get on with it right? Okay here we go...it's hot in my house again...God...Oh!! And this chapter might seem boring but it does explain a lot and another thing that happened to Hermione is talked about while explaining stuff about Draco's true feelings...so yeah...only one more bad thing will happen to Hermione. And that will probably happen in like...the next chapter or two. Okay!! I hope you like it!!!

Draco was being pulled out of sleep at, what to him, was an ungodly hour. At first he thought he was dreaming, you know one of those dreams where someone is calling you in real life but you think it's in your dream? Well anyways, Draco woke up in his queen-sized bed with light pouring into his room. He squinted one eye open and saw his mother's form by the window before snapping his eyes shut again, God it was so bright in the room. He groaned and rubbed his eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden change in light.

"What are you- what are you doing?" Draco asked groggily.

"What do you mean 'what am I doing?'? You have to get up. It's almost 9 o'clock and we have to go shopping for your school supplies," his mother answered him like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You have to get ready. Draco!! Now!! Don't lie back down!! Draco I swear..."

During that little speech, Draco thought it would be nice to have a nice little nap. He heard his mother yelling at him and didn't care until she put his puppy on the bed. Of course, it being a puppy, got overly excited and jumped on Draco's stomach and started licking his face uncontrollably.

"Ugh...mother...fine you win..."

"Great. We're leaving in 45 minutes. Hurry up"

And with that he left the room. Draco sat up and thought about the day before. He didn't really know what day of the week it was. It was summer, right? Who keeps track of days in summer? Certainly not Draco Malfoy. He stretched his arms out in front of him and looked down at his left arm. If his father had not died, that arm would be marked. Draco cringed at the thought of getting the Dark Mark. Sure, most Slytherin's couldn't wait to get the Dark Mark, but not Draco. He had always hated the idea of getting it and having to do everything some old man told you to do. He hated how they would just kill people for fun. He hated how the Death Eaters believed that they were above everything and everyone else. Draco didn't hate Muggle-borns and Muggles like the Death Eaters did. To him, they were just more people. But, don't get me wrong, just because he didn't hate Muggles, he did hate Harry Potter. Why did he hate Harry Potter? Harry Potter was the whole reason his father would beat him. If he didn't treat Potter badly enough, he would get beaten. If he didn't call Granger a mud blood enough, he would get beaten. If he called Granger a mud blood and got himself hurt by Potter, he would get beaten. If he didn't do something bad to Potter enough, he would get beaten, plain and simple. The Weasley boy would get on Draco's nerves, but Draco didn't nearly hate him as much as he hated Potter. Granger, Granger was a completely different story than both Potter and Weasley. He respected Granger. She was smart and he knew it. Sure, he would like to say she cheated or lied, but he knew she didn't. He didn't hate her for it either. His father did. His father's words rang through his head.

'Draco!! How could you let that stupid mud blood be ahead of you!!! I thought you were better than that!!!'

It wasn't fair how his father automatically assumed that Draco had to be better than everyone else. It all came back to 'Granger is a mud blood and you are a pureblood'. Draco never thought that was fair. Maybe she was just smarter than him. Maybe she tried harder or cared more. Sure, Draco should have cared, it would have saved him a lot of scars and nights being cleaned up and bandaged by his mother and house elves, but he didn't care. He knew his father was wrong, and he didn't care. His mother knew his father was wrong, but she couldn't stop him. If she tried, she would get beaten, too. Draco couldn't put his mother through that. He had to stand up to his father.

About a year ago, Draco had stopped fearing his father. That made Lucius Malfoy furious that his son no longer feared him. When Draco was at home, and even sometimes at school, his father would show up and beat the shit out of him, for no reason. Draco hardly even groaned in pain when his father beat him anymore. His father didn't deserve the satisfaction to know how much he hurt his son. Not only physically, but emotionally. Draco had a father who hated him, who only had him so the Malfoy name could go on. Draco took that out on his schoolmates. He put up a barrier around him he was sure he would never break down. Maybe he would now, a little bit, that his father and Voldemort were dead.

Draco thought of what would have happened if you didn't have to be a certain age to get the Mark. He probably would have gotten it right away. It was sort of like a prerequisite to being a Malfoy. If he had gotten it, he would be dead right now with all the other stupid Death Eaters who had the Mark. Maybe he wouldn't be dead, but greatly hurt, like Severus Snape. He had the Mark, but for some reason he didn't die. Dumbledore said it was because he didn't truly believe all of that stuff. 'I wouldn't have died, but not having it sure saved me a lot of time.'

Draco decided that he would have to say sorry to Granger and Weasley on the Hogwart's Express. That would be only fair, right? After all, Potter had killed himself, along with Granger's best friend and Weasley's little sister.

Draco kept thinking about Granger. He REALLY needed to say sorry to her. So much stuff had happened to her. Ginny getting killed, Potter killing himself, and her parents dying. (A/n incase you didn't know that is the thing that happened to Hermione that we didn't cover!) He sort of cringed when he thought about her parents' death. It was his father's fault. Entirely. If his father hadn't been such a jealous prick about Hermione actually being better at something than his son, they wouldn't be dead. His father planned a Death Eater raid on the Granger household because 'their daughter thought she was better than us'. Whatever, Draco knew it was because he thought that by killing Granger's parents, she would become weakened or something and not study so much. Lucius's plan backfired. Hermione studied three times as hard to keep herself from thinking about her parents. Therefore, she did about 5 times better than Draco.

"DRACO!!! Are you getting ready?! I haven't heard any movement up there! Come ON!!"

Draco was jolted out of his thought and realized he had been thinking for at least 15 minutes. He jumped out of bed and grabbed a pain of baggy dark denim jeans and a black t-shirt, not faded, Draco Malfoy did not wear faded. He grabbed a fluffy black towel and took a quick shower. He got dressed and put some gel in his hair to make it look kind of messy. He grabbed some socks and shoes and ran down the stairs to his mother who was standing there tapping her foot with an eyebrow raised.

"What took you so long, Drake?"

"I was thinking...lost track of time.."

"Thinking about...?"

"Nothing...just...father...and stuff"

"Oh..."

Draco was glad he had his mother. His mother always tried to alter what his father had taught him. It was because of her he didn't believe all that stuff his father said. He had always known she was right. Now, Draco could express himself, he could never do that while his father was there.

After they arrived at Diagon Alley, they bought Draco new robes, a new cauldron, quills, ink, potions ingredients, and everything else that he needed for the new school year. They went to get some butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks. Draco didn't really see anyone there that were his friends. They had all pretended to be his friend when his father was powerful, but now, they pretty much ignored him. Draco saw the Weasley family, who it appeared, had adopted Hermione or something. He didn't say anything to them. It looked like Ron had some other girl with him. Lavender Brown he figured out. Hermione looked like she was either pissed or left out. He guessed left out. He felt guilty and sympathetic toward her. Guilty, because of all the things he had done to her in the past, that were unjust, and sympathetic, because it appeared, that like him, she didn't have any friends. If only he had the guts to go talk to her. Even though Weasley seemed to be ignoring her and giving every ounce of attention to the girl clinging to him, he probably would kill Draco for coming near the group of people. Oh well, maybe she'll be alone on the train.

A/n: there is chapter 4. I dunno, it might have been kinda boring with all the explaining or whatever, but it wasn't that bad...was it? Review and tell me please...that would be soooo great. GOD it is hot in my house STILL...haha okay well review and...I'll write. I have a lot of stuff going on this week, like, on the 25th I have some thing for school and then I'm going on a trip with my sister and two friends until Friday and today is...Monday, so I don't know if I'll be updating this week. Don't be mad...or too happy...or whatever...thank you for the reviews I've gotten!!

Love,
Alyssa