August 22nd 1994

It was the night of the 422nd Quidditch World Cup. Draco followed his father up the stairs to his family's seats in the ministers box. As he guided his mother through the crowd of people he heard a familiar voice up above him. He stopped and looked up to see the Weasley family with Potter in the midst of them. Then he saw her. The Princess of Gryffindor. Their eyes met for at least a second or two. He was so close to smiling but instead he put on his signature Malfoy smirk.

"You must have gotten awful seats Potter!" Hermione glared at him and pulled her friend away toward their seats before he could respond. Lucius used his cane to stop the young wizard before he got too far, clamping it on his foot.

"Do enjoy yourselves, while you can." As the Weasley clan climbed the stairs to their seats Lucius pulled Draco aside and whispered in his ear. "Remember the plan. You and your mother get to to safety at precisely midnight. Understood?"

Draco swallowed nervously but replied with a stiff nod. "Yes father."

After the game Draco hid in the shadows, hoping he could get ahold of Hermione before she left with the blood traitors. Even though, he himself was a blood traitor by association with her. He heard her voice and patiently waited for her to barely pass him.

"Granger!" He hissed at her.

She turned her head to look at him, glaring. "What do you want Malfoy?"

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the shadows. "To talk."

"Let go of me!" The witch shrieked.

Draco clamped his hand over her mouth. "Be quiet! Now listen to me. Don't you dare repeat what I'm about to say to anybody." Draco sighed heavily before continuing. "There's going to be a Death Eater attack tonight. As soon as you hear panicked screaming around midnight you run straight to the forest to safety. Do you understand? Stay safe Granger."

Hermione nodded with tearful eyes, as Dracos grip on her wrist was hurting her. He exhaled heavily and uncovered her mouth to give her a quick kiss goodbye. After he pulled away from kissing her, she just stood there, stiff as a broomstick. Draco looked at her with sad eyes. "I'm sorry for everything. See you at school." And with that, he was gone.

At midnight Draco took his mother to the forest away from the attacks.

"Draco.." She said in her softly motherly voice. "That girl..with the brown hair. Is she the one your father caught you with?" Draco tried to pretend he didn't hear her. "I know you heard me Draco."

Draco sighed, "We'll talk about it when we get home. Let's get out of here." After that Draco took his mothers hand and she apparated them back to the front gates of the Manor. They both walked through the gates and through the front door. Once in the kitchen Draco sat down at the bar of the kitchen counter.

"Are you hungry Draco? I can get one of the elves to make you something."

Draco looked down at the floor and exhaled heavily. "I'm not hungry. I just want some firewhiskey."

Narcissa gently smacked her son on the top of his head. "First of all, you aren't old enough to drink yet. Second, you don't need to be drinking this last at night." The witch sighed softly. "Are you too worried about her to eat? That girl i mean."

"I don't want to talk about that. I'm just not hungry."

Narcissa put her hand on Dracos arm tenderly and looked at him. "Not even for some chocolate chip cookies?"

Draco looked up at her and smiled slightly. "Yeah..some cookies would be nice." He smiled bigger. "Thanks mum."

"You're welcome Draco. And I'm sure that girl will be fine."

"Her names Granger."

Narcissa stopped what she was doing and look back at her son. "You mean Hermione Granger? The girl you'd complain about constantly in your letters to me second year?" She smiled. "Malfoy men alsways tend to fall for intelligent women."

"Yeah but father wants her dead. Just because she has dirty blood. It's pathetic."

The oven dinged and Narcissa put a plate of cookies in front of Draco. "Would you like milk or coffee?"

"Milk. I want to be able to sleep tonight."

She poured him a glass of milk, kissed his head and ruffled his hair. "Enjoy your midnight snack and get some sleep dear. Goodnight Draco. Sweet dreams."

"Goodnight mum." As Narcissa went to her study in the East Wing, Draco went to the library in the West Wing with his cookies and milk. He opened where he left off in the book Dracula and read until he fell asleep.