How had he fallen for this beautiful, intelligent woman? This beautiful, intelligent woman that he did not deserve.
It started with the insults, they would do whatever they were doing, then throw an insult at the other, not even looking up. Then the insults stopped meaning anything. That was when the arguments had come up, they talked about anything and everything, House Elf Rights, literature, music, animals, other classmates.
He watched as she read that old history book. She had let it slip that she hated it on one of the many nights they had talked about literature. So why read it? He thought.
That was the point of the war, wasn't it? To let people be free to do what they wanted?
He smiled as he remembered one day they had spent in front of the lake, they had been laughing and joking with each other, just sitting on the grass and talking, ignoring the curious stares they got from classmates and even the staff themselves. Then, he had noticed a glint of golden at the edge of the forest. They had gone closer to investigate, and were greeted by the sight of a beautiful golden unicorn foal and its mother. The mother had surveyed them with a wise gaze, as if she could see into his soul.
Hermione had walked forward in awe, and stroked the unicorn's snout reverently. The mother walked towards Draco, and bent it's head, allowing he too to let him stroke the fine creature on the snout. The foal looked at them with playful curiosity, such as the curiosity of a puppy with it's first toy.
The unicorn and it's foal had then left, trotting calmly back into the forest. They didn't say anything, words would have just ruined the magical thing that just happened.
It had started to rain, so Hermione had run back up to the castle. Draco, however had caught sight of a golden glint in the grass. He bent down and picked up a golden hair. Next to it was a silver one.
Draco had tucked the unicorn hairs in his pocket, and then jogged to follow after Hermione.
The next day there had been a Hogsmede visit. Hermione had decided to stay at the castle, so Draco took advantage of her absence by going to a new jewellery store in Hogsmede and bought a necklace that reminded him of her. It a gold oval shaped locket with a carving of a rearing unicorn on the front. He requested for it to be engraved, and it was going to be posted to him by owl when it was finished.
He planned to put the unicorn hairs and a moving picture of the mother and foal that he had made out of his memories inside it. He planned to give it to her on her birthday, which was in a week.
He was wrenched out of the past by a tapping sound on the window. He turned to look, and was greeted by the sight of a stormy black owl tapping the window. He signalled to the owl to go to his bedroom. Even though Hermione seemed to be engrossed in her book, he still didn't want her to see it until he gave it to her.
He left the Common Room to go to his room and take the package from the impatient owl. He opened the velvet box and saw the locket. He gently lifted it from the box and checked the engraving. He gently put the picture and unicorn hair in the locket and replaced it in the box. He hid it in a shoe in his closet, and returned to the Common Room to be in the presence of the beautiful bushy-haired woman, only to find that she had gone.
He swallowed the lump of disappointment that had risen in his throat at the sight of a smaller book on top of the book she was reading.
His curiosity overwhelming him, he stepped forward and picked up the smaller leather-bound book. He sat down on the seat that Hermione had just vacated and looked at the first page.
Hermione Granger's Diary
He hesitated, unsure wether or not to keep reading, but in the end the need to know what she thought of him prevailed over his want to let her have her space.