AN: This is a prequel chapter. It happens before the first chapter. I decided to write it to let everyone know how they came to be at the Riddle House and how Hermione and Draco started dating. Hope you all like it.
September 1997
"Draco Malfoy! You can't be serious headmaster. We would probably kill each other if we had to live together," Hermione said sitting back in a chair with a sigh.
"Now really Miss Granger it is something all of the heads of the schools have done. You will still be aloud to eat with your house and go in there common room you just won't be living in Gryffindor tower," Dumbledore said sitting in his chair across from Hermione. "And it's not really living together. You will be sleeping in separate rooms and will only be sharing a common room. Don't think of it as a bad thing, think of it as a way to make a new friend," he said standing and patting Hermione on her shoulder.
"Please follow me Miss Granger and I will show you to your new rooms," Dumbledore said walking out of the room and down the stairs.
'Wonderful,' Hermione thought to herself as she reluctantly followed the headmaster out of the room. She walked with him until they came into a hall that she would swear she had never been in before.
"This Hall can only be found by the teachers and those who know its there. It contains the Heads Common Room. Follow me," Dumbledore said walking into the hallway.
'Well that explains it,' Hermione thought to herself.
She followed him until they came to a statue. "Gumdrops," she heard Dumbledore say as he watched the statue come to life and move. Hermione walked into the room and her mouth fell open.
"This place is huge," she said looking around the room. On one side of the room there were two doors leading to bedrooms, and in the middle of the room were two couches and a table with many chairs. There was a fireplace on the far side of the room with another couch in front of it. She watched as Dumbledore walked to one of the doors.
"This is Mr. Malfoy's room and this is your room. They are decorated in your house colors and have all of your things already inside. Your cat has also been put in there. Your bathrooms are attached and Draco or any other boys are not aloud in your room. Please make sure they don't try going in there. They will have many problems if they do. Now Miss Granger do you have any questions?" Dumbledore asked walking back towards the entrance.
"Just one sir, where is Draco?" She asked looking around the room and not seeing him anywhere.
"I believe he is with Professor Snape at the moment getting the news that he must share rooms with you," Dumbledore said smiling his usual smile with his eyes sparkling. "If you shall need me Miss Granger I will be in my office. Have a good night and please don't kill Mr. Malfoy yet," he said as he walked out of the room.
Hermione went into her room and gasped. It was beautiful. It had gold and red sheets and curtains as well as a queen-size bed. She walked into the bathroom and almost fainted. It had a big tub with different types of bubble baths and a shower in the other corner. She went back into her bedroom and heard voices out in the common room. 'Draco must be here,' she thought to herself opening her door and walking out into the common room.
Snape and Draco turned when they heard the door open. Draco sneered and Snape walked over to Hermione. "Now Draco remember what I have told you. Hermione's room is strictly off limits. You cannot get in there without permission from a teacher," Snape said patting Hermione on the back as he walked past her.
"Not to worry sir, I wouldn't go near the mudblood if my life depended on it," Draco said walking past Hermione and into his room. He slammed the door behind him. Hermione went back into her room. She quickly changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. 'What a day,' she thought to herself thinking of the train ride over when she had found out that Draco was the head boy. She fell asleep not long after.
A few weeks had passed with nothing interesting happening. Hermione and Draco were pretty much avoiding each other as best they could. It was October, a week before Halloween. Hermione was sitting at the table in the common room when Draco came in soaking wet.
"Where were you?" Hermione asked standing and grabbing a towel out of a closet in the wall and handing it to Draco.
"Quidditch practice. It's raining out," Draco said grabbing the towel out of Hermione's hand and wiping his hair with it. He walked into his room slamming the door and into the bathroom. He took a warm shower and went into the common room. He wasn't wearing a shirt but had his pajama bottoms on. Hermione raised her eyebrow.
"What? Don't tell me with you spending the summers with the boys that this is the first time you've seen a guy with no shirt," Draco said smirking and sitting in the chair across from Hermione. He opened the book in front of him and started working on his potions work.
"No, it's not. It's just the first time I have seen you come out here to do homework. What changed?" Hermione said watching Draco write. Draco looked up at Hermione and there eyes caught each other. He looked her in the eyes for a few minutes when Hermione turned away blushing.
"Nothings changed. I still think you're a mudblood. It's just cold in my room," Draco said looking back at his book.
"Well, maybe if you wore a shirt it wouldn't be so cold," Hermione said with a small laugh. Draco looked up from his book with a smirk on his face.
"Well, if I wore a shirt I wouldn't get the reaction I'm getting from you right now," Draco said laughing as Hermione started to blush more then before.
"So you mean to tell me that you went shirtless just for me?" Hermione said doubting it very much. She watched as Draco leaned back in his chair and put his arm over the back. She never realized how handsome he was until that moment but she was beginning to think that her mind was just being clouded from him not wearing a shirt.
"Think what you want Granger," he said grabbing his book and moving it closer to him so he could read it better. He looked up at Hermione as she went back to work on her muggle studies. He was wondering what was wrong with him tonight that he was getting along with her so well. He looked around the room and saw that the fireplace was blazing with a fire. He stood and walked over to the couch, and sat his potions book in hand.
Hermione looked up as she heard Draco leaving the table. She watched as he went and sat on the couch by the fire place. She turned back to her book and worked some more on her muggle studies. 'Hmm, maybe I should go sit with him,' Hermione thought looking back at Draco. She grabbed her book and went over to the couch. She sat on the other side sitting her feet up on the couch. She looked over at Draco and saw that he was smirking at her.
"What? I got cold," She said giving a small laugh knowing he would never buy that. She looked away from him into the fire place and smiled.
"Yeah sure you did," Draco said moving closer to Hermione. "I mean you're only wearing a full amount of clothing."
"Well, I am wearing a skirt which means my legs are uncovered," Hermione said looking down at her legs. The door opened then and they looked up to see Professor Snape come into the common room.
"Malfoy get a shirt on now. This is a common room not a bedroom. Miss Granger I need to see you in the hall," Snape said as Draco went into his room. Hermione stood and followed Snape out into the hall. She stood in front of him wondering what was going on. "Miss Granger, I have some news for you that might be hard to hear. I'm sorry to have to tell you that your parents have been taken by Voldemort. We are doing everything in our powers to get them back," Snape said the look of hate on his face never changing.
Hermione let out a cry and sat on the ground. Snape looked down at her and then called for someone who was around the corner. Harry and Ron came running to Hermione and started hugging her tight. Hermione grabbed onto them and started to cry as Snape turned and walked away.
It was Halloween now. Hermione was like a walking zombie. They still hadn't found her parents and didn't know if they were alive. The feast was starting in ten minutes and Draco was trying to get Hermione to go.
"Oh come on Granger. You have to go to the feast. You're the head girl," Draco said grabbing Hermione's arm and walking towards the door. Hermione pulled her arm away and sat back on the couch.
"Go away Malfoy!" Hermione said looking at the fire place. Draco sat down next to her.
"I'll make you a deal Granger. You come to the feast now and I will let you cry on my shoulder and call me all the names you want tonight," Draco said grabbing Hermione's chin and making her look him in the eye. "What do you say?"
Hermione looked at Draco and blushed giving him a small smile. "Can I call you a basturd?" Hermione said laughing.
Draco raised his eyebrow but smiled and nodded yes. "Come on. We're going to be late," he said grabbing Hermione's hand and walking out of the room going to the feast.
Hermione went to the Gryffindor table as Draco went to the Slytherin. She looked over at him and smiled. He had tricked, she knew he had. She was just going to stay to prove that she could. Besides she wanted to call him a name and not have him call her a mudblood back.
"It's a miracle. He actually got you to come out. I mean you have missed classes all week," Ron said patting Hermione on the back. "Sorry we haven't come to visit. We couldn't find that hallway again," Ron said sighing and hanging his head.
Hermione gave a small laugh at Ron's words. "Its ok I understand," Hermione said patting Ron's hand and grabbing a roll, she started to eat. She hadn't had much to eat the last week. Just what Draco was bringing her. He was acting strangely about this whole thing. Almost as if he knew something.
The feast was over an hour later and Hermione started to walk back to the common room when she heard someone call her name. She looked back to see Draco running after her. He stopped in front of her a little short of breath.
"Malfoy, what's the matter?" She asked wondering what was up. She looked up at Draco and noticed that he had a sad look in his eyes. He grabbed her hand and brought her back to the common room.
"Hermione, I know what happened to your parents. I have no idea where they are, but I know what's happening. My father just sent me a letter. He said that they were using your parents to get you, Potter, and Weasley to them. I'm sorry Hermione," Draco said hugging her close. Hermione was confused. Draco had said her name twice and now he was hugging her all because of what was happening with her parents. She pulled back from Draco and looked up into his face.
His cold gray eyes looked so different. There was a sudden softness to them. She was unsure what was happening to Draco but there was a change in him. They stood there for a few minutes like that when Draco did something unexpected. He bent down and kissed her hard on the lips. She couldn't help but kiss back.
November 1997
Harry was walking to Snape's class when he saw Hermione and Draco come out of it holding hands. He watched as Draco gave her a soft kiss on the lips and then kept walking Hermione following close behind. He raised his eyebrow and shrugged. Hermione was acting weird lately but he just figured it was because of her parents still being gone.
He walked into Snape's class and saw him sitting behind his desk. "Sir, I'm here for that lesson," Harry said walking towards him.
"All right go in my office I will be there in a second," Snape said shooing Harry away. Snape continued to grade papers until he heard a bang come from his office. He quickly sat down his quill and ran to his office. "What's going on?" He said walking in to find Harry on the floor.
"Sir, the chair broke when I sat in it," Harry said standing and fixing the chair with his wand. Snape rolled his eyes and walked to the other side of his desk. He sat in the chair and then looked at Harry.
"So you want to learn how to send messages to me telepathically in case something happens?" Snape said raising his eyebrow. He looked at Harry who was smirking at him. "Tell me, why did you choose me and not Dumbledore or McGonagall?" Snape said standing back up and looking at Harry.
Harry looked at Snape and smiled. "I choose you because I know that you would know where we were in the messages. I mean after all you used to work with Voldemort," Harry said sitting in the chair across from where Snape was standing. He looked up at Snape expectedly.
"Well that's logical and so unlike your thinking Potter. Did Granger tell you to do this?" Snape said sitting on a corner on his desk in front of Harry.
"Well it was her idea but I thought it was a good one, so here I am. So are you going to teach me or not?" Harry said standing.
"Sit, Potter. Yes, I'll teach you but I swear if you use this as some sick game I will have to injure you," Snape said grabbing his wand.
Late-December 1997
"Harry, Draco thinks he has found them," Hermione said running into the Gryffindor common room and hugging Harry tightly. Harry looked over Hermione's shoulder to see Draco walking behind her.
"Has he?" Harry said unsure of if he was telling the truth. He let Hermione go and walked over to Draco. "Where do you think they are?" Harry said looking up at Draco since he was taller then he was.
"Well at the last meeting we had they said that they were going to the Riddle house to feed some people. They wouldn't tell me who when I asked. I figure it must be Hermione's parents. It just getting to them that is going to be the problem. Riddle house goes so far underground now it's like going to Gringotts just without the underground rails," Draco said sitting in a chair behind him. He got a smug smile on his face and then looked at Hermione. "I'm sure there down there. It's just getting to them that will be the problem. There expecting you to come looking for them," Draco said sighing.
"Well then let's not disappoint them," Ron said coming down the stairs from the boys dorms. "Let's leave now," Ron said looking at Draco and Hermione in turn.
"No, we have to wait until after the first of the year. It's smarter that way. They wouldn't expect it," Hermione said walking over to Draco and sitting on his lap. "We've talked it over and Draco thinks that most of them will still be out of the house then because of break," she said looking at Ron who had a look of disgust on his face. "Oh Ron quite being so childish," Hermione said sticking her tongue out at him.
January 3rd 1998
Hermione watched as Draco, Ron, and Harry broke the door down to the Riddle house. She watched as Draco ran inside first and followed closely behind him with Ron and Harry behind her. "Draco, do you know where we are going?" Hermione asked holding his hand.
Draco looked over at her and smiled. "No clue. This is my first time here. But I'm sure we can find them. Don't worry Hermione," He said as they walked. They found a staircase that went downstairs and decided to take it.
As they made it to the bottom three death eaters came out of the shadows and followed behind them. They had made it to another set of stairs when they heard a grunt behind them. They all turned and looked to see the three death eaters watching them.
"Look at this. It's the little Malfoy with Potter," the taller of the three said. He looked at Draco's hands. "Hey isn't that the mudblood?" The man said walking closer to them.
Draco pushed Hermione behind him and then walked closer to the guy. He pulled out his wand. "She's not a mudblood, you basturd," he said as everyone else pulled out there wands.
"Look at this Goyle there going to try and hurt us," the man said laughing. "We should have known that you would change sides for a pretty face Malfoy. You can't be trusted," the man said pulling out his wand and saying "Accio wands," pointing his wand at each of there's.
"Shit," Draco said. He grabbed Hermione's hand as Harry took her other hand. "Run," Draco said as they ran down the second set of stairs and into a room closing the door behind them. "Now what?" Draco asked looking at Harry and Ron.
"Let's keep going. I mean we didn't make it this far just to give up now," Ron said looking at Hermione.
"Yeah I agree with Ron. Let's go," Hermione said grabbing Draco's hand and walking out the door with Harry and Ron following close behind. They had walked for a little while when more death eaters showed up. They started to run again when the floor gave way and everyone fell into the cave. Hermione hit her head and was knocked out.