The Beginning

Ever since Hermione's mysterious first year at Hogwarts, the thought of Draco was held in the back of her mind, in a compartment that no one could enter except for her. His personality was what she loved most, to Harry that was the worst part of him, but Hermione couldn't get his rebellious attitude to stop intruding her mind. It was something she wasn't; everything he did was what she would do everything to avoid doing throughout her life.

Hogwarts was a place where rumors spread fast, usually with a sack of lies covering it. All over there was whispers about who kissed who or who did what with whom, and it was never ending to Hermione. Out of the abyss of rumors, one stood out to her:

She had been walking from the library to the great hall for lunch as she passed Pansy, with her mouth close to the ear of another Slytherin. Her cheeks were pulled back into a devious smile and the words came out as if it were a whole. 'Draco' was the word that stood out to her, and drew her closer. She casually walked to the wall next to the bench that the two Slytherins sat on and she inched closer to them, with her back to the wall and books to her chest.

The words Pansy said blended together and Hermione desperately searched for a word she could make out. By the time she was just a mere two feet from them, she could hear every other word such as "Draco, love, girl, Slytherin? Gryffindor?". Her heart immediately skipped a beat, and her stomach flipped. The thought of her crush liking someone else weakened her knees.

As the world around her stiffened, she began to walk near the great hall, her heart barely beating. As she took her first step, her right foot caught behind the leg of the bench. As she fell to the floor in what seemed to her as slow motion, all of her books broke away from her grasp. Her stomach touched the ground first a few inches away from Pansy's feet.

"Watch it, Granger!" she hissed, "Next time I'll-" she then choked. Pansy's sudden silence caused Hermione to look up. The most evil grin Hermione had ever seen flashed off Pansy toward the ground, where all of Hermione's books and papers lay scattered. Hermione slowly followed Pansy's eyes to see what they were glued on. Her lungs stopped moving as her most secret book sat open. A drawing she wanted no one to see protruded through the papers surrounding the book. She quickly propped herself on her knees and began to pick up the papers.

The few people who were in conversation silenced and stared at Hermione. She felt each eye pierce her. Slow footsteps were heard in the hall where a dropped pin could be heard and stopped just short of Hermione's papers. She did not look up as a hand softly took her secret book. Tears fell on the papers she had gathered in her arms. As she picked up the last dropped feather she looked up, about to rip the book out of the hands of who was holding it.

Bewildered eyes stared back at Hermione as tears streamed down her cheeks. Pansy happily slipped behind who Hermione ogled at.

"What a pathetic girl, Draco," she giggled. Hermione snatched the book from him, his mouth slightly open, and held it in her shaking hands as she ran toward the Gryffindor common room.