Chapter 3:
He should not have lashed out like that. Though Draco Malfoy, a pure-blood, did not care in the least for the feelings of some muggle-born, he was angry that he had lost control of his emotions. He was a Malfoy, and as a Malfoy he was taught that showing emotions was showing weakness. Draco Malfoy was not weak, and refused to depict such a person.
Malfoy was having a very bad term so far. He was seven teen, in his seventh year of Hogwarts, and had lost control of his life.
Being that he had just turned seven teen, he was old enough to become a Deatheater. Though nobody would believe him at the time, he didn't want to join his father. He really dislike muggles or muggle-borns, but was forced to act as if he did to save his life. He knew that what Voldemort and his followers were doing was wrong, but he also knew that if he resisted he'd die for sure.
Between the fact that he was in the middle of his last and hardest ear of Hogwarts, his father's constant requests for Draco to join his side, and the fact that Draco Malfoy was a regular moody teenager, hi life had turned into a living hell.
His grades had started steadily dropping, and his number of friends shrank with it. He lashed out more often, and was rarely in a good mood. Another run-in like that with Granger was sure to make it worse. As hard as it might be to believe, that was one of Draco Malfoy's better days.
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"Wow," she said bewildered. "He must be having a really bad day!" Not that Hermione cared at all, but any time you knew how Malfoy was feeling, you knew something bad was going on. Lately Hermione had noticed that Draco was an emotional wreck. Usually very concealed, he was angry all the time and did anything but hide it. This would make him even more fun to work with.
The thought of Malfoy's messed up life led her to the thought of her messed up life. Her father had died from a heart attack the week before school started, and left her on an emotional roller coaster. Harry being who he was tried desperately to help but didn't do such a good job, and Ron was Ron. He didn't help much either.
Starting a new school year like that didn't help her grades much. Though her grades never dropped they became harder to maintain, and it was much more difficult for Hermione to put the same effort into her work.
On top of that she was a regular six teen year old who had to deal with the same issues any other girl her age had to put up with. Her life was officially crazy. Hermione being Hermione could not let her life fall apart, but the more she tried to pick up the pieces, the more messed up everything became. Just as she attempted to have a good day, term, and school year, she got paired up with that waste of flesh Malfoy. All she needed was someone to talk to, but that was the one thing she couldn't manage to find.
