Disclaimer: I own nothing except the DADA teacher and Arielle. JK Rowling does, darn her. I wonder how much it'd cost to take Malfoy off her hands…

Chapter One

She smiled at him.

It was as if he was looking into the face of an angel. Her white blonde hair floating before her eyes; her skin, pale and smooth, like his; her eyes shining silver, penetrating the darkness surrounding her—she was beautiful. He reached out to touch his mother, but before his hand could touch her face, she faded into the Darkness. Draco sifted through the black looking for her, but in vain for she was nowhere. Draco caught a glimpse of that white blonde hair and reached for it. It wasn't Narcissa Black, the best and most beautiful of the three Black Sisters; it was his father, Lucius Malfoy. Draco screamed in anguish as he fell back into the abyss, his father's cruel laughter ringing in his ears.

Draco Malfoy jolted awake. He looked around his room frantically, breathing sharply. Draco closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes and exhaled slowly. His bed was damp. He lifted a hand to his forehead and realised why—he was completely covered in a cold sweat and the water was steadily dripping off his body.

Damn those nightmares, he thought, shaking, He'd had so many since his mother had disappeared. After Lucius was sent to Azkaban, she went mad, talking to herself and tearing at her own skin. She was taken to St. Mungo's and admitted to the long term ward. A month after her arrival, just as Lucius escaped from Azkaban, she disappeared from the hospital. Draco was living alone with his father now. Of course there were the house elves and the occasional visit by one of his father's many mistresses, but he, Draco, was essentially alone.

He touched the silver dial on his wall and instantly, the room lit up. He threw his duvet off and sat on the edge of his four poster bed, his head in his hands. He stood up and went into the bathroom. Draco stood in front of the mirror and looked at himself. He wished to Merlin he looked more like her and less like his loathsome father. The only features he shared with her were his eyes; piercing silvery blue.

Draco looked at himself harder. He was tall, around 6'1 and fairly muscular. His arms and legs were strong and well exercised because of his quidditch training. Draco blinked away from his reflection and reached for his bathrobe. He slipped it on and went out into the corridors of the Malfoy Manor.

He roamed the mansion, walking with no destination for hours. He heard the Grandfather clock chiming and realised that it was now 5 o'clock. He turned to walk back to his bedroom and saw his parents' old bedroom. The door was locked as it had been for almost two years. He tore his eyes away from the door and ran straight back to his bedroom.

He threw off his robe and climbed into his bed. Then he extinguished the light and pulled the duvet up.

'This' he said aloud staring at the ceiling as if trying to bore a hole in it, 'is the last time. After today I will not allow myself to be haunted by Narcissa's memory.' With this he lay back and closed his eyes, drained of all emotion.

Hermione sighed loudly as she watched her cousin Audrey fling her self across the yard, laughing madly and wearing deely-bobbers. Did the child never rest? She'd been babysitting the 5 year old for 4 hours and not once had the child stopped to breathe. Goodness! she thought she has more energy than a skrewt on drugs. She sighed again and sat back in her chair.

'Ah well, I suppose I'll catch up on my school work.' Hermione pulled out Standard Book of Spells: Grade 7. She had read it 3 times, but it couldn't hurt to read it again, what with NEWTs coming so quickly. Hermione was excited to finally have reached her last year of Hogwarts. She had grown so much over her years there. Her bushy hair gone and her beautiful new body had done wonders for her confidence. She could do just about anything now. Except....

A few minutes later, she heard her cousin squeal in awe.

'Look at the big ugly birdies Hermione!! Lookit!' Hermione looked round and saw a pair of rather large barn owls swoop down.

'It's alright Audrey, they're nice birds.' Hermione took from one a letter from Hogwarts and from the other the Daily Prophet. She paid the News bird a knut and both birds took off into the surrounding trees. Her cousin was silenced in wonder.

Hermione smiled; glad to finally have some peace. She opened the Daily Prophet and her smile vanished. 12 more wizards and 5 more muggles had been tortured and/or murdered by Voldemort and his supporters. She set aside the newspaper and picked up her Hogwarts letter. She found the usual welcome letter along with the book list, but there was an extra paper in the envelope. Hermione unfolded it, and as she read a huge smile crept across her face:

Dear Ms. Granger,

I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected as Head Girl at Hogwarts this year. You must sit in the heads compartment at the front of the Hogwarts Express. I will speak to you and the Head Boy before the feast on the first day to discuss later meetings with the prefects. Again my congratulations.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress at Hogwarts

Hermione jumped up and did a bit of a dance round her cousin who still looked mildly confused.

'Hermione! We're back!' came a voice from inside her aunt's house. Hermione picked up Audrey and ran into the house shouting her good news.