Draco Lucius Malfoy age 17. That is all the information that he knew when he 'woke up'. He felt grief stricken. He had only been told the stories of what he had done, and only some of them. He remembered very little of his last seven years at Hogwarts, he had moments where he remembered fighting it, like when he had called Hermione that awful name his second year, "Mudblood" what kind of word was that even. After the war it should be proven to anyone that no matter your heritage all oxygenated blood is red, and that is generally all he cared to know now. He also remembered fighting when he saw her being tortured but the curse was too strong, and he wasn't sure what he was fighting then. He was weak from the amount of torture he was subject to, and he didn't realize what was happening, and he hated himself for it. His eyes glazed, but he refused to cry. He was having "Malfoy Manor" torn down and rebuilt to a place that he could live in luxury, because he had the money, and he did not want a reminder to anyone what his family had done, nor to him.
The stories that Hermione and Harry had told him appalled him, and their friend Ron didn't believe Draco, even after watching him be subject to Veritaserum. He supposed he couldn't blame him, but it concerned him for what would be said for the rest of the school. Hermione and Harry had been teaching him all summer about what to expect for charms, transfiguration, DADA, and potions, but they spoke very little of how other would react to him, and his hopes weren't very high. After all these years he was hoping that people would accept his story, but he knew he had two people that did, and in his eyes, even if that was all it was more than he had ever had to start with.
Hermione, his thoughts drifted back to her, she was truly beautiful, and one of his best friends, he knew he loved her, but that wasn't something he was willing to tell her yet, not after what he knew he put her through. With his own consciousness he noticed how beautiful he was, every motion she made with her wand, the way she turned the pages of her book, the way her tongue poked out slightly when she was concentrating on writing.
He had asked her about his family, and she told him she had wiped their memories of her before the war, and they had still died at the hands of Death Eaters and Harry's at the hand of Voldemort himself. He felt guilty; although they assured him they didn't blame him. He thought of Hermione's tearful eyes as she told him the story and how that was the only time the whole summer he had held her. He loved the way her skin felt and how her hair felt on his skin, and that wonderful scent of roses. She was intoxicating, and he never wanted to let her go.
When Draco has asked her about Harry and Ron, and her feelings about them, she admitted her feelings about Ron were strained she didn't love him romantically although the Weasley's wanted her to, and she never loved Harry like that. And Harry, when asked about Ron said that although they had all changed, the fame and glory had gone to Ron's head and now anytime they went out he was unbearable.
Draco had become a bit of a celebrity himself and he didn't desire it, but his coverage was neither positive nor negative, until he was seen with Hermione and Harry, then suddenly he was a hero, and the replacement member of the "Golden Trio" that had plagued the news for the last few years.
The next day he was standing at platform 9 3/4 he arrived early just to catch a glimpse of her. Maybe talk to her again. Shortly before they boarded she walked in with Ron and Harry, light brown hair spilling down her back, and her light brown eyes and he knew she was the girl of his dreams. It was obvious to him however, but unbeknownst to her that despite the ultimate war hero, the-boy-who-lived standing next to her everyone was staring at her. As she stopped near him she subconsciously flipped her hair sending an overwhelming scent of roses through the air that disappeared all too soon. He caught Harry's eyes and nodded as he tried to get her attention. And they exchanged brief words and went to the train. He watched a few more tearful goodbyes wondering what it was like to have an actual family, remembering vaguely that that was at one point what he had, before Voldemort had come back to power, than he boarded that Hogwarts express for what felt like the first time.
He found an empty compartment and sat down with a book trying to make up for all his lost time in lessons, Hermione swore he was doing well, but he knew that he needed to do a lot better for his NEWT's.
He noticed her walking by and called her into the compartment. "Hermione" he called and she walked in.