Thinking of Her
Draco Malfoy
After that entire speech I gave to Granger, I did some serious thinking. Well, first, I told the servants to get her a strong drink. Then I added that I needed one, too.
I didn't mean to tell her all of that. Too bad it was too late to change my direction of that conversation. Everything I said was true, but I wondered why I felt like I needed to explain my actions as a teenager to her. It didn't matter now, after all.
Back in school, she was my enemy. We hated each other and back then, it was okay. It was expected; really… my father raised me to think people like her weren't worth living. I believed this nonsense until I was 17, give or take a year.
When I turned old enough to get my dark mark, I was taken to the meeting where I'd be initiated. I came frighteningly close to leaving with the mark… but I did something kind of bad to get out of it. You see, I guess I really was an "insecure coward," something Granger called me in sixth year. At the meeting, I saw how everyone bowed down to the Dark Lord, and that wasn't something I wanted to spend my life doing. Then they told me I would need to kill a muggle to prove my loyalty before I could be initiated. They also gave me a cup of Voldermort's blood to drink. That was the last straw—there was no way I would do the things they demanded!
So, I killed one of the Deatheaters with a spell and got the hell out of there. I ran so far away that I was totally lost, but I eventually found my way back to Hogwarts.
Again with the completely pointless and irrelevant anecdotes from my teenage years!
Anyway, I was supposed to hate Hermione Granger. But something went terribly wrong. I ended up liking her. I had a little crush on her during our last year, but I never admitted it—not even to myself. I just thought I was being a teenage guy—lusting after every girl who was half decent-looking. And surprisingly, Granger was decent-looking in school. Even though I never got a good look at her body, and her hair was all over the place, I still felt a sort of pull when I went near her. I never could explain it (or admit it), but I realize now that I did hate her so much I liked her.
But at the time, I also was insanely jealous of her. She had friends—I had a posse that followed me around and wanted to be like me. She was smart—my father intimidated my teachers into passing me. She was confident with herself—I wished I could like myself like she did. She was passionate about her future—I didn't see a future for myself. She was—
Ah, you get the point.
After Hogwarts, I met Fleur, and I don't need to repeat that story. And since that didn't work out, Elizabeth was my rebounder. When I saw her people skills, I knew Malfoy Inc. needed a person like her. So, I did what anyone would do—I proposed to her. Little did I know, I would soon learn that marrying her would be the biggest mistake of my life.
Author's Note: Sorry it was so short! The next chapter REALLY makes up for it, though, I PROMISE! The next chapter is three pages long and has a lot of defiance, humor, and some… erm… closeness between out characters. Look for it tomorrow!