So sorry for the mistakes last week, I completely forgot to check what I had written! Please note that I have no Beta and that I'm French, there will be mistakes at some point but I will do my best to avoid the worst of them :)

Draco pushed the large door and entered his room. His suitcase was already there as well as his broom, and he sighed before collapsing on his bed, exhausted.

The ride back on the train had been tiring, and he had had a hard time maintaining a calm face while listening to the conversations. Everyone was talking about Diggory's mysterious death and Dumbledore's warning, and Draco and half of Slytherin's house had done their best trying not to cringe every time the Dark Lord's name was brought up by one of their schoolmates. Most of them hadn't wanted to be remembered that the man was back, him especially. But alas, he had had the dreadful confirmation only a few hours after the end of the task.

His father's owl had been waiting for him in the dormitory and Draco had felt his inside freeze at the sight of it. He had known for months that something was about to happen, but he hadn't expected how unprepared he was to face the truth.

Son,

The day we have been waiting for years has arrived. The Dark Lord has finally returned and will help us take our rightful place back in society. The Mudbloods were the first ones we were able to stop from coming, but soon we will take care of the Half-Bloods and the Blood-Traitors.

Before long, only the Pure Ones will be allowed to use Magic.

Do not forget that.

Last year's Draco would have been thrilled to learn that. Ever since he was little, he remembered nothing but wanting to be on top of everything and he had heartfully supported his father's ideology, making sure that those below him knew their places.

Now, however, the simple fact that he had to continue pretending that he cared about Blood Purity was enough to make him feel sick of himself. In only a few months, he had radically changed the way he saw the world around him, and the reason was one he would never dare to admit to anyone, even his closest friends. Draco Malfoy, Heir to one of the most ancient Pureblood Family, had befriended a Muggle.

It was late in the afternoon when Draco took his wand from its holster and summoned Hermione's last letter to read it once again, hoping that the sight of the familiar writing would calm him enough to face his parents at dinner.

Dear Draco,

Thank you so much for the present! I don't know how you've been able to get your hands on that copy of A Winter's Tale, but I promise I will be very careful with it. It will have a place of honour in my library, and I can't wait to show it to my parents. But honestly, you didn't have to give me anything to celebrate the end of my school year! I won't have my results before mid-July, and I know that I've failed Religion. You of all people know that I take my studies very seriously, but that course is rubbish and I still cannot understand why I have to suffer through it year after year.

Anyway, I told my parents that I wanted to wait a few days before beginning my extra-scholar activities and my baby-sitting, so hopefully we will be able to find a day when we could meet! I feel like this is the only chance we will have before going back to school, and since neither of us will be available during the rest of the year, I hope that we will be able to see each other at least once during summer.

Could you tell me if you have any free time during the next two weeks?

Your friend,

Hermione Granger

Draco smiled before putting the letter back in the secret compartment of his suitcase. After their first encounter last summer, he had decided to see her again. It was not that he had liked her at first, but he had to admit that there was something that made him want to know more about her. Maybe it was the knowledge she possessed; a knowledge he had never thought he would access because of their different origins. Or maybe it was the passion she had when she talked, the fire that surrounded her and that attracted him a little bit more every time he saw her.

No, Hermione Granger was not like the other girls he had encountered before.

It had not been difficult to leave the Manor as his parents were not there a lot. The hardest part had been to avoid his friends, who were also alone most of the week and wanted to hang out in Diagon or occasionally at each other's. In order to keep his illegal activities a secret, Draco had made sure that he and Hermione would not meet more than twice a week for a few hours, and to have his personal elf escort him out of the Manor so that no one could trace his trips.

She had been ecstatic the first time he had called her his friend, and it had taken him a good hour to recover from the shock of having her suddenly jump in his arms and hug him tightly. Malfoys never hugged, but she couldn't have known that and he had decided that he would make an exception this time. He hadn't found the right occasion to tell her that she should stop, because honestly it wasn't proper but, in the meantime, he had had no choice but to accept the occasional friendly hug when she became too emotional and really, it wasn't so bad after all.

Three weeks after their first encounter, she had given him a small package which contained a small brooch with the drawing of a dragon. A pin's, she had called it, for his birthday. She was very sorry she had not known before and would do better next year, but she really hoped he would like it.

He had.

That's why, when her birthday came, he bought her something special. Another friend, he wrote in the letter that came with the gift, so that you won't feel alone when I'm not here. He had seen him at the Magical Menagerie where he had come to buy some treats for his owl, and found that he reminded him a lot of Hermione: he looked like a little lion, had a strong character and seemed to have a hard time socializing with his peers, which had made Draco think that he would be the ideal companion for his new friend.

Buying the cat and having him delivered at her house had not been difficult. In order to continue their correspondence, Draco had had his personal elf take care of their correspondence, making sure that it intercepted her letters when she posted them and that it put his in the Muggle mailbox with a stamp, just like he had learned to do in the first-year manual of Muggle Studies he had dig up from a corner of a forgotten library in Diagon Alley. It had been a little difficult for his elf to understand why he had to go to a Muggle area but in the end, it had just shrugged and accepted this as one of his Master's eccentricities.

Hermione Granger wrote a lot. She sent him letters at least four times a week and had been happy to discover that he answered each one of them. He had thought it would be hard to maintain a regular correspondence because they were not from the same world, and as a consequence he sometimes had a hard time understanding what she was talking about. However, they still had a lot in common and would often describe their lives at school, with Draco editing some of his stories to avoid mentioning his Magic.

After a while, Draco had asked her for a few books on her favourite themes, and she had happily provided him with a lot of reading materials. It had helped him to understand her world better, and after that it had been easier for him to write, because now he was able to challenge her on more than one subject.

Talking about his personal life had been harder, and he had decided to tell her that he was from an old family and that, as a consequence, he had lived a very sheltered life. She hadn't been impressed at all and explained that she attended an elitist school that only rich children could afford. Her parents were middle-class workers but she was a very good student, and she had received a scholarship to attend the school in question two years before she was supposed to.

They hadn't been able to meet during the school year but had exchanged Christmas gifts, and she had been happy to discover that he had included sweets in hers. She was not supposed to eat them, she had told him, but because she was in a boarding school most of the year, she would be able to bring them with her and enjoy them.

Back in his childhood bedroom, Draco was having mixed feelings about the coming summer. On the one hand, he wanted to see Hermione again and hoped that she wouldn't be too disappointed when seeing him after such a long time. On the other hand, he knew that things were going to be very different from the previous years, and he dreaded what Fate was planning for him.

"You don't seem very happy," Hermione told him about an hour after their first meeting. "Is there… is there something wrong with me?" she asked shyly, not meeting his eyes.

"No!" Draco exclaimed, making her jump a little. "No no, it has nothing to do with you, I promise! It's just…" he sighed, staring at his feet while trying to find a way to explain the situation. "My father's boss just came out of prison, and he's trying to get his old gang back together."

"Prison? Boss?" Hermione asked, startled. "But I thought your father did not work and only lived from the family's private income?"

"He does, yes, but he and his friends are also invested in politics. My father… my father isn't a good man, Hermione, the things he did before his boss was arrested… Let's just say not a lot of people would approve. And now that the man is out of prison, I'm afraid that he's going to do it again."

"Draco," Hermione whispered worriedly, "Draco, are you in danger?"

"In… what? No, of course not!" he told her, shocked that she would think such a thing. "My father would never hurt me, nor would anyone he knows! It's just that I don't approve of his methods or of his plans, but it's not like I can do anything against it!" he continued, frustrated.

"Can't you go to the police?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"Ha, as if the police could do anything about them. They've continued bribing the entire system even after their boss was sent away, they would have to kill the Minister for anyone to consider them a threat!"

"But they're not going to kill anyone, are they?" she asked, sounding even more worried than before.

Draco forced out a laugh.

"Of course not!" he told her, hoping that he would sound convincing enough. "No, it's just… Bad things," he said after a while, shrugging. They stayed where they were for a while, him thinking of how bad he regretted not being able to tell her the truth, and her trying to find something to cheer him up.

"Do you want to go watch a movie?" she suddenly asked him, hoping that it would distract him long enough to get him in a better mood. "There's a theatre just around the corner, we could see if something seems interesting?"

Draco quickly checked the time and winced. His mother was expecting him for lunch and he couldn't afford to be late.

"I won't have the time today, but what about tomorrow?"

"Perfect, let's say just before 5 o'clock?"

"Works for me, I'll see you then," he answered, smiling at her enthusiasm.

It was a quarter after two and Draco had been reading a novel on his bed when his elf had suddenly popped in, looking upset.

"Popsy is very sorry, Master, but Master's mother is summoning him."

Draco had frowned, surprised. His mother rarely summoned him, she would either come by herself (which she had done frequently until he had been accepted to Hogwarts) or tell him that she expected him at a specific time at breakfast, the only meal the entire family always shared together.

"Do you know why?" he asked.

The little elf shook its head and Draco got up, having a bad feeling about the encounter.

"Better not let her wait, then. You can go back to your usual tasks but please do not forget that I will require your help later this afternoon."

"Pospy won't disappoint its Master," it said before bowing and disappearing from his sight.

Satisfied, Draco left his bedroom and hurried to his mother's quarters, making sure that his robes were perfectly adjusted before he entered her apartments. He knocked twice and soon enough; the door was opened by his mother's elf.

"Draco!" Narcissa said, graciously rising from her couch. "I'm glad I caught you before you left, I've just received the most wonderful news!"

"Really?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in her direction while putting an interested look on his face. "And what is that news, Mother dear?"

"Your father just confirmed that he had accepted the Parkinsons invitation for tea today," she told him, her eyes gleaming as she watched his reaction. "I'm sure you know their daughter, Pansy? Her mother told me she was your date at Yule."

Merlin, he was so fucked.

Hermione had been waiting for forty-five minutes in front of the theatre when she checked her watch once again, sighing when she caught sight of the time. The movie had begun fifteen minutes ago, and Draco was not here. There was no point waiting for him any longer. She looked around one more time, secretly hoping he would suddenly appear out of nowhere before going to the nearest bus station. She felt hot tears rolling on her cheeks and wiped them off quickly. She would not cry for him.

"Fuck," he screamed, kicking the nearest bin with his right foot. "Fuck fuck, FUCK!"

Of course, she was not there, he was two hours late so why would she have waited for him? Even if she had gone and watched the movie alone, he knew that the show had ended fifteen minutes earlier so he would have missed her. He didn't know where she was, didn't know what she thought of him now and didn't know how to make things better.

"Popsy?" he called, and his elf appeared in front of him.

"Do you think you could find the house where the letters you send me come from?"

The elf gave him a quizzical look but took his sleeve and made them both disappear.

Hermione had been rereading her favourite novel in her room, trying to forget the painful feeling of betrayal that had plagued her the entire afternoon. Of course, she was disappointed, how could she not be? Draco was her best friend, her only friend, and he had betrayed her. He was perfect, too perfect to be honest, and she should have known better than to think their friendship would last more than a year. It was one thing to exchange letters regularly, but another to remember that your penpal was real and looked like her.

There was a small knock on her door and her mother came in, looking more excited than Hermione had ever seen her.

"Darling, there's a young man outside asking for you. He told me his name was Draco and that he was your friend, is that true?"

It took her a few seconds to remember that she was supposed to be upset with him, too startled by the fact that he had come to her house. He had never done that before.

"Tell him it's the wrong house," she answered in a bored tone before going back to her book.

"So, he is your friend," her mother said, sounding suspiciously interested.

"Was," Hermione gritted through her teeth.

"Was?"

"Yes, was, Hermione repeated, emphasizing the last word. "He told me we were going to watch a movie today and stood me up. I waited for him for forty-five minutes before I decided that I couldn't stand the looks of pity people sent in my direction anymore."

"I see," her mother declared after a few seconds of silence. "Hermione, darling, I understand why you're upset, but don't you think you're a little bit too harsh? I saw him for less than five minutes, but even I can see that today didn't work out the way he planned. Why don't you let him come and explain himself before deciding what you want to do?"

She only needed three seconds to decide.

"Alright."

"She's waiting for you," Hermione's mother told him when she entered the living room.

Draco tried to steady his shaking hands and stood up quickly, rehearsing his speech once again. He hadn't been sure that she would accept to see him, so he didn't want to miss the only chance he had to convince her that he was sorry. His day had been worse than expected (but how could it not, when he had learned that he and Pansy would soon be betrothed?), but losing Hermione would be the last straw. He followed Mrs. Granger and climbed up the stairs behind her before she stopped in front of a door. She smiled at him one last time before turning away and going back downstairs, and Draco knocked on the door twice, trying to ignore his heart racing in his chest.

What if she just wants to end everything?

"Come in," he heard after a moment's silence, and he opened the door, ready to face whatever was coming next. Hermione was on her bed, surrounded by books and petting a satisfied-looking Crookshanks, and Draco fought back a grin at the sight of her. That was exactly how he imagined she would spend her free time.

"What do you want?"

Her tone was the coldest he had ever heard and he tried to ignore her face, totally devoid of its usual smile.

"Look, I'm really sorry, okay? I know I fucked up pretty badly, but I swear I had no idea until today that my parents wanted me to have tea with Pansy."

"Pansy? And who's Pansy?"

Draco swore internally before answering, hoping that he was misinterpreting the dangerous tone of her voice.

"A girl from school?"

"Oh really? So, you stood me up for a girl from school that you must see every day?"

"I did not have a choice, okay?" he shot back, beginning to feel annoyed by her accusations. Couldn't she be a bit understanding? "Do you really think I had a fun time drinking tea with a girl I loath while listening to our parents talk about our fucking nuptials?"

"… No?" Hermione answered weakly, taken aback by the venom in his voice.

"NO, EXACTLY. I learned that I was expected there half an hour before I was supposed to go, so SORRY if I couldn't tell you that my plans had changed but I didn't really have a choice so are you going to hate me for something I had no control over, or are you going to agree that, maybe, your reaction is a bit excessive?"

He watched her trying to find something to say, and visibly failing to.

"Nuptials?" she finally asked, looking a bit alarmed. "They want you to marry that girl?"

"Of course," he sneered, still angered by the news, "remember when I told you I lived in a different world? Arranged marriage is not something uncommon in my circles."

"But... but that's barbaric!" she blurted out. "Can't you say that you don't want it?"

"I'm 15, Hermione, do you really think that I have a say in my parents' decisions? No, I have to wait until I'm an adult to argue against it, but hopefully I won't have to do that."

"But if they expect you to marry that girl, what do you…"

"I won't have to do that," he continued, interrupting her, "because once I'm of age, I plan to completely disappear from their life."