PART ONE

The Beginning of the End

"Okay, so do you mind explaining to us whatever it was you were doing in the common room after Harry and I went up to bed?" A red-haired boy with freckles cocked his eyebrow at his friend, grabbing a bun on the table and shoving it into his mouth absently.

"I told you, Ron, I was doing some research," the girl beside him replied, shaking her bushy-haired head. "How many times do I have to tell you guys that the exams—"

"—are ages away," another boy to her right cut her in. He yawned and rubbed his blue-green eyes, adjusting his glasses. "Hermione, you can't possibly be studying for the exams already. We've practically just started term!"

Ron opened his mouth to say something more, but bits of bread came flying out instead. So he shut his mouth and just nodded his approval.

Hermione sighed. "Alright, alright, Harry; you win. I wasn't studying for the exams, but I was doing some research. A research on my own grades."

Harry grinned, thinking it was a joke. "Why on earth would you want to research on your own grades?"

"I'm trying to check all my previous and current grades if I'd done well," she said.

"Oh, and blow your already air-blown head to an even bigger size? Or perhaps you're trying to match the size of Potter's overgrown ego?"

All three heads turned to the direction of the cold, drawling voice they all knew too well. And true enough, there was Draco Malfoy, their sworn enemy, Harry's rival, and, to their opinion, the most bloated, egoistic sadist to ever cross Hogwarts. The Great Hall fell silent.

Ron swallowed his bun and glared at him. "I don't remember any of us asking you to drop in on our conversation, Malfoy."

"And I don't remember you having enough guts to actually talk back to me, you lowly weasel," Malfoy countered. "Better be careful where you use your newfound guts, though. We don't want your beggar-enough family to sink low in order to bail you out of Azkaban if you get into any fights." He placed his hand over his mouth in a mocking way. "Oh, I forgot; they can't sink any lower. My bad."

The Slytherin table of the pompous boy's House snickered, and Ron flared a shade even brighter than his hair. He grabbed hold of his wand and directed it at Malfoy.

"Ron, don't!" Hermione took hold of his wrist and put the wand down.

"Ah, see what I mean, Weasel? Watch your wand, Redhead. I'm sure you don't want an encore performance of what happened in our second year, now, do you?" Malfoy laughed with the other Slytherins and sauntered away to his table.

"Malfoy's right, Ron; we can't afford to have you choking up slugs again," Harry told his friend soothingly, glaring at Malfoy out of the corner of his eye. And then he realized that Malfoy's right hand was wrapped in a bandage. "Someday soon, that git will meet his sticky end."

Ron broke free of Hermione's grasp and shoved his wand back into his robe pockets angrily. "You've been saying that for ages!!! For goodness' sake, we're in our seventh year now! And look at what's happened to him! Nothing!!!"

Hermione grinned. "Well, he's grown more popular and more powerful with the Dark Arts. He's also one of the brightest students at Hogwarts, and an excellent Seeker. Practically half the school's females are in love with him," she bit back a grin as she looked at Ron's expression.

"RUB IT IN MY FACE, WHY DON'T YOU???" Ron exploded. Harry and Hermione laughed.

"Much as I hate to admit it, Hermione's right." Harry turned back to his food. "Too bad he's still an intolerable brat." He faced Hermione. "Anyway, enough about that slime. Why were you trying to find out if you have good records?"

"Well…as you can see…I'm Head Girl, right? And I'm supposed to get the best grades in school, right? But there's this one thing…this tiny little thing…that makes me really uncomfortable about my grades…and makes me wonder if I'll—"

"Call us when you're ready to get to the point," Ron interrupted impatiently.

"Okay, okay." She took a deep breath. "McGonagall wants to see me after first period. She wants to talk to me about my grades."

"WHAT???" Harry and Ron both almost fell from their seats. "What on earth could there possibly be to talk about?" Harry exclaimed.

"I know! That's why I'm worried," Hermione wrung her hands on her robes and lost appetite.

"Aw, c'mon, Hermione!" Ron patted her back. "I'm sure McGonagall just wants to tell you that you're too smart for this school already and that everyone's a fool when compared to you."

***

Malfoy grabbed his quills and parchments and stood up at the end of his first period Potions class, his mind whirling. His next task was not going to be easy…not easy at all. So far he'd done everything else in a cinch, even though he had to sacrifice a few of his classes. It was still worth avoiding the pain, though. He didn't want to be punished so he finished every task easily. But this time, the requirement for the last one was different. He was going to have to exert a little bit more effort into it. Just a little bit.

He was just about to catch up with his friends Crabbe and Goyle out the door, when a demanding voice held him back.

"Mr. Malfoy, could you please stay for a few minutes? I need to talk to you."

Malfoy rolled his eyes and nodded at the two to go on ahead without him. He turned around and walked to the Professor's desk. "What is it, Professor Snape?"

Snape leaned forward on his desk and rested his chin on his hands. He eyed the young man carefully. "As you most probably already know, Mr. Malfoy, you are one of the top students in this school. You're fairly excellent in your hexes and charms and all your magical skills, and you're simply brilliant in Potions. Not to mention your superb Quidditch skills are an admirable addition to the Slytherin team. I'm extremely proud that I have you in my House."

Malfoy smirked in spite of himself. "Why, thank you, sir."

"However," Snape continued, "There seems to be one field of study you do not excel at."

He cocked his eyebrow. "Yes, sir…?"

"Have you ever wondered why Longbottom was chosen as Head Boy this year instead of you?"

Malfoy frowned. "I'm sorry, sir, but what's that got to do with anything?"

Snape narrowed his eyes steadily at him. "You are failing History of Magic."

Malfoy didn't say a word. He knew perfectly well that he was bombing that subject, because History of Magic was one of the classes he was skipping to do his…duties. He was never reprimanded or marked absent, though. A Dummy Charm was enough to make a fake "Malfoy" convince Professor Binns that he was always present like the good boy he was.

"Hmmm…I see you do not seem surprised about my, tragic announcement. I suppose you already expected it?" Snape continued in his oily manner. And still Malfoy didn't say anything. Snape sighed and leaned back against his chair.

"Perhaps you truly are informed about your failure, Mr. Malfoy. But this one thing you do not know." Snape lifted a finger. "Your father, concerned as he was, requested the school to assign you a tutor."

This, clearly, caught his attention. He snapped his head up and gaped at Snape. "Excuse me?"

"A tutor indeed," Snape repeated. "Lucius Malfoy has generously…compromised with the school, that whoever is assigned as your history tutor would be exempted from all exams of that same subject. He also appealed that there not be a single student soul to know about this, save for you and your tutor, to spare him and yourself the ah, humiliation."

Malfoy was not done gaping. What was his father playing at? "But Professor, I can assure you that I can take care of my own grades. I don't need a fellow student's help, or anyone's help for that matter." His eyes twitched, as if to plead. "Surely, you trust that I can do it…?"

"My dear boy, I trust you more than anybody else," Snape explained. "But I'm afraid the decision is not mine to make. It is your father's. The Headmaster, too, protested, saying he believed in your abilities, but your father insisted. I believe there is nothing you, or I, can do."

"…" Malfoy still had a billion protests tearing out his heart, waiting to be released, but true enough, he knew Snape had a point.

"Now, enough of this. I asked you to stay because you will be meeting up with your tutor right now. The school has allotted a room for you to study and to concentrate, and no one is to know that you are being tutored because the two of you will be having your sessions in that room every second period, since both of you have History of Magic at the same time, which you both will no longer need to attend. You will also meet during breaks and before lights out if necessary." Snape cleared his throat. "Therefore, no one, save for those loitering, will be able to see you. I shall lead you to your study now." He stood up, looking down at him, as if wanting him to ask more. But Malfoy kept silent and followed.

If there was one thing he'd learned all through his seventeen years, it was never to defy his father.

***

Hmmm… she thought, her eyes darting back and forth around the small room. It wasn't really grand, nor was it big, but it wasn't bad. It was simply an unused classroom, with a few renovations made to make it more comfortable, almost like the Gryffindor common room. A fireplace was built across the secret entrance, and to the left were a few bookshelves of dusty history books. To the right were tapestries of the historical places in Britain, and in the middle of the room was a small desk with four chairs. There were two long couches on either side of the chairs, and a few pillows were scattered near them on the carpeted floor. Of course, the common room was still a great deal nicer, but this place was equally comfortable enough, though small it may be.

She shifted in her seat and sighed, staring at the flickering fire with her back to the entrance. McGonagall had talked to her earlier about her grades alright, but only to tell her that her grades were marvelous and outstanding, and that she had been chosen by the school to be a tutor of a certain student for History of Magic. The room was enchanted so that it would not be noticed and no one would be able to hear anything inside from outside, and the entrance was sealed by a statue of Wendelin the Weird, who would only step aside when given the right password. She was not to tell anyone else about this, and her History of Magic classes were covered by a dummy. She knew her grades were covered as well, but still she wished she could attend her classes and learn normally just like everyone else.

But here she was, sitting in an invisible room, waiting for her so-called tutee in secret. Whom, by the way, she didn't even know yet.

She was just about to get tired of waiting and leave, when she heard a voice outside mutter the password, "Nickel Knacks."

"I shall leave you now," Professor Snape said to the person who stepped inside, and left. She whirled around.

And she wished she hadn't.

"Malfoy???"

"Granger???"

Hermione stood up abruptly and pointed a finger at him. "What are you doing here?"

"If it's any of your business, I'm supposed to be meeting someone here." Malfoy crossed his arms across his chest and smirked. "Now scram. Shouldn't you be off playing Who's The Better Suck Up with your little saint friends?"

All of a sudden Hermione's eyes went wide. Her hand flew to her mouth. "Hang on—you're the student who's bombing History of Magic???"

Malfoy's smirk instantly faded away. "You're the damn tutor???"

They stared at each other for a while, and then Hermione started laughing. "Gee Malfoy, no wonder you didn't get picked as Head Boy! The only difference between you and Neville is that he actually has decent grades in history! And you actually cared to plead the school for a tutor!"

"Longbottom was a blundering freak until the four year. He started having a social life when he reached the fifth year. I am not like him at all," Malfoy smirked again. "And for the record, this is all my father's damn idea of a joke. Draco Malfoy does not plead, especially not to the likes of you, filthy Mudblood."

Hermione frowned. She'd grown used to him calling her that for about six years now, but each time he did, it still really hurt.

"What, no comment?" Malfoy continued. "Finally shut you up for good? I would've thought an insufferable know-it-all like you would've had so much more to say, plus being my tutor and all." 

"For your information, I don't like being here with you to tutor you for the whole year as much as you don't like me here, too." She clenched her fist. "But since I'm already doing you this favor, will you just shut up and try to be a civil human being for once?"

"My father pays the school for you to tutor me, and the school is exempting you from History of Magic, Mudblood. This whole thing is not a favor. So stop being so cocky. You're not all that." He jerked his head towards the bookshelf. "Who knows, if you do a good job, my father might even have an ounce of pity and pay your dirt-friend Weasley some extra Sickles. Everyone knows how much he'll need it."

That clicked a switch. "You think you're so great just because your dad pays everything and everyone for you, huh? You think you're so superior that you can just saunter around school with that big head of yours?" Hermione pointed angrily at him again. "Well, you're not! In fact, you're just a spoiled and stuck-up brat who does everything his father tells him, all of which are up to no good! Don't you dare insult other people's families, Malfoy. Yours isn't all that great." And with that, she stomped past him and stalked out of the room.

You have no idea, he thought, staring after her in silence.

***

I believe this is where it all began. My seventh year at Hogwarts was never the same after that. Sure, there were still jokes and pranks, mischief and detentions, break-ins and sneak-outs, snack-stealing and the occasional Filch-dodging, but there were events in my seventh year that I'm sure no one, in the history of Hogwarts, had ever experienced before. Events that would make your hair curl, your heart thump, your stomach churn, and your mind whirl. Events that I sometimes wish never happened, but am thankful as well for it sparked something new in me, and in all of us. Events that I feel will be engraved in my mind and soul for as long as I live. All because of a simple tutoring. I will never forget that day that changed my life, and the lives of those around me, forever.

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Halu peeps!!! I can't believe it, my first Harry Potter fic!!!! It was kinda hard to suddenly shift from anime fics to an HP fic, but I hope I wrote it right and I hope you guys like it so far :D Sorry about the confusing isolated paragraph up there in the last part. It's a narration of some sort, kind of like a voice over in a movie :D I'm not planning to reveal who that mystery narrator is anytime soon so that you guys can have something to ponder about, but don't worry, there are a lot of context clues and all; so as the story goes on and the narrator continues to narrate, I guess you guys can pretty much figure out who the narrator is :D I'll reveal the narrator's identity sometime in the middle of the fic I guess, but if it does get too confusing, please let me know so that I can make a quick fix :D So pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease review!!! I want to know if it's a good start and if I should continue it or something :D This fic of mine is completely, totally, and utterly different from the old styles of my previous anime fics, and it's kind of like a test-run :D So I really need your feedback guys!!!! Thanks so much!!! :D JK Rowling rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS: sorry if ever there are wrong grammars and stuff :D hehehe!