"The Making's of One, Draco Malfoy."

Chapter 2, Book One

It's Always been her

The sun rose as dawn broke and Draco awoke with a startled gasp. He had had a terrible dream that he couldn't explain. Voldemort was using the Cruciatus Curse on him and he had collapsed in a heap on the floor, only to wake up and see Hermione in his place. A bloodcurdling scream escaped her lips as she was tortured, withering in obvious pain. Hermione collapsed as soon as Draco thought to do something to save her. He looked at Voldemort with obvious hate watching him laugh at the girl before him. Voldemort kicked her beautiful face in disgust and Draco watched in anguish and agony as he felt for a pulse on the still form of Hermione Granger. Her pure red blood getting all over his hands. There was nothing.

Draco jumped out of bed remembering his nightmare and felt dirty. He felt like he could still feel the invisible blood of Hermione's on his hands. He went to the bathroom and washed his hands in the sink feeling no relief. He scrubbed and scrubbed till he gave up and took a boiling hot shower. Draco felt his skin burn at the temperature of the water on his back. If it made him feel better he would do it.

If Hermione agreed to help him would that be her fate? She shouldn't deserve a painful death like that, nobody should. Except him. If he had the nerve to ask her to come to her death if they were caught, he should be the one to leave this world painfully. He would deserve it after all.

Draco knew seeing Hermione today was going to be a bad idea, even if she did agree to help him. Maybe he should just stand her up? It'd hurt her feelings but then she'd at least be safe.

A half hour shower still wasn't effective. The boy's in his dorm would be waking up in about an hour, and he still had no control over himself or his right state of mind.

Draco walked back towards his bed and dug through his trunk. His Nimbus 2001 was sticking out almost begging to be ridden; Draco hadn't flown since he had received his mission from Voldemort.

Draco yearned to feel the wind whip his shoulder's, blow his hair back and to be free of his misery and torment. Draco grabbed some clothes and his broom and raced up from the dungeons, past the Great Hall and into the grounds. Draco mounted his broom and took off, promising to not come back until he was over the slight depression he was going into. Every time he went higher and further the more he felt his pain being released.

********

Draco felt content when he made his way back past the Great Hall, to bump into the one and only Hermione Granger. He promised himself that he would never see this girl again, for doing so meant that she could die or get very, very hurt. He made no eye contact as he walked past her heading towards the dungeons.

"Hey, wait." Hermione grabbed Draco's bare arm and spun him around. "Did you still want to meet me in the Library today? Or was it another one of your sick uncharacteristic jokes?"

Draco's face was stumped. He would've thought that the 'look' he had given her had shown a sign or even a hint of 'Don't come to the library today.' Hermione was undisturbed by Draco facial expression of self-loathing.

"Draco, has something happened?"

"No, not yet Granger." Draco leaned in closer to Hermione, looked around behind himself before saying. "How far are you willing to help me? I am having my doubts and I don't think you'll want this sort of trouble to hang around with all day. This is serious Hermione, don't just take this lightly. Not going to the library today might just be the best decision of your life."

With that Draco turned on his heel and almost ran away, from the fear that Hermione would still meet him in the library today. Draco would still go and see if she would still come. Her Griffindor courage made her stubborn and strong. So of course she would be there all the same. But would she go to help a boy on the very opposite end of being a friend?

********

Once ready for his first class after skipping breakfast, not feeling well enough to stomach it. Draco made his way to the dungeons for his first class of Potions, with the new teacher Professor Slughorn.

Draco sat down at a desk and prepared all his materials and books as a bushy haired girl walked in. A smile was evident on her face as she greeted her new professor and chose her seat, careful to not make eye contact with the only other student in the room. Hermione felt Draco's gaze burn into her head as she turned away and prepared her equipment as well. Unable to resist any longer Hermione looked up into Draco's silver grey eyes. She was mesmerised by their unexpected beauty and tranquillity.

Draco found great peace by looking at Hermione alive and well. It was the best he'd been feeling for quite some time. Hermione met his gaze and seemed a little dazed as a question formed into her beautiful eyes.

Wait, what? What are you doing Draco! You aren't supposed to encourage her to come and see you! You need to warn her to stay away! Remember your dream! You don't want that for this girl.

Draco turned away and focused very hard on the potions Professor Slughorn had set up at the front of the room. All the other class member's had arrived by this time and class started.

All through the class Draco watched Hermione out of the corner of his eye. She was smiling and happy. Watching Hermione made himself feel happy on the inside. He knew that with her caring and persistent personality she was going to help him. Did he still want to refuse her help and act like he had never asked? Draco had no idea what to do and for once in his life. He felt like he obligated that he had to make it better by paying back Hermione for the pain she might receive is this went wrong.

Class finally ended and Draco was the first one out the door. Draco ran from the dungeon's, his book's and potions equipment still in hand, to the always vacant girls bathroom on the second floor. Draco had heard of the terrible ghost that haunted said bathroom but didn't care. If anybody saw what he was about to do they would think he was crazy or worse tell Snape.

Walking into the bathroom Draco dumped all his books on the floor and reached into his potion equipment bag, and brought out his carving knife. Feeling terrible for what he was about to do and how low he was stooping just made him want to put the blade to his wrist even more.

Draco walked towards the mirror's with the basin's lined up underneath them. He sat down and brought his knees up close. He rolled back the sleeve of his bare left arm, no mark had been put on him yet.

Draco thought back to his dream and then of the smiling and happy girl in potions class. He deserved this pain he was about to self inflict, smiling to himself slightly he brought the blade to his wrist and watched as the tinkle of blood flowed out.

This relief was what Draco had been looking for, it felt nice to escape and feel a different pain for once. His heart and insides always hurt him when he thought of his task. Killing somebody himself or being responsible for someone being killed by another was just depressing.

He felt like he was in a dark tunnel, no lights and feeling trapped and claustrophobic. The air around Draco was thick as he felt hot tear's slide down his face. He couldn't do it. He would never do it.

Life was just getting too complicated for him. Running away and hoping to not get caught wasn't always that bad an option. If he ran somewhere warm and sunny and lived like a muggle they might not ever be able to find him. He'd save the life of Albus Dumbledore and of the beautiful Hermione Granger.

Draco had to admit to himself that he thought Hermione was beautiful, he had always thought that as soon as he had laid eye's on her. He remembered back to that day on the train when they first met.

The sun was shining through the windows of the 'Hogwarts Express' as Draco sat with Crabbe and Goyle. These two boys he'd known since he was younger and tried to convince them to come with him to go and meet Harry Potter just a few carriages down.

A bright eyed and happy girl walked past their compartment at that time, knocking on the windowed door ever so quietly.

"Excuse me." She said, the door sliding open. The sun from the windows alighting her bushy hair making it turn a pretty brown with slight gold colours in it. "I'm Hermione Granger. I just came to ask if you had seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one."

I stood abruptly and held out my hand, Crabbe and Goyle rolled their eyes. "Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." I watched as she blushed when we caught eye contact. "Oh yea, and this is Crabbe and Goyle," I pointed to them slightly never losing sight of this amazing girl in front of me. Hermione kept blushing and looking nervously down. Had she noticed I was still grasping her hand? I felt like I never wanted to let go. Her hand gave me a nice tingling feeling that I had never felt before.

Hermione looked down questioningly at our still entwined hands.

"Oh sorry," I blushed, let go of her hand and patted the seat next to me for her to sit down. "Will you sit with us for a while? I mean only if you want to." I still hadn't looked away from her face. Hermione nodded, sat and looked out the window.

Crabbe and Goyle ate like pigs in front of Hermione when the food trolley came around. There was hardly anything left when the lady had come by. It was like someone had bought almost everything from her already. I bought the remaining chocolate frogs and handed one to Hermione, watching her face and neck grow red.

We talked about loads of things whilst the train took us to Hogwarts. About what house we wanted to be in, when we got our acceptance letter's, all our equipment and if we had met Harry Potter yet.

Hermione loved to read and explained to me how a Levitation charm worked from the theory she had been reading about. It was all great fun and I thought I had discovered a new friend. Hermione had to leave though; remembering she still had to ask people about Neville's toad. She said goodbye, left the compartment and moved down towards the other's where Harry Potter's was.

Crabbe and Goyle threw themselves into a fit of laughter and giggles as Hermione walked away.

"Malfoy likes a girl, Malfoy likes a girl." They chanted on and on.

"No I don't. She. Is. Just. A. Friend!"

"Sure," Goyle muttered. The smarter one out of the two. "So you just gawked and clung onto every word she said because she's a 'Friend'"

"Oh shut it. Maybe I like her a little bit. But don't go and tell the world okay?"

Draco snapped out of his vision. He had always liked her.

The bad part was when he was told by the older kids that she was a "Mud-blood". He still remembered the ripping feeling in his chest he had felt as he discovered this. He would've thought that all Mud-bloods had some kind of difference to them. A significant sign that displayed their difference and lower class of living.

Draco never talked to her again after that, embarrassed of what he was feeling towards this girl. Crabbe and Goyle never spoke about it, he had forbidden them to, especially in front of anybody else or his family. The worst thing about the entire situation was that despite those differences he never stopped liking her. Even now when he thought about what was to become of him, he still thought about her and watched her. Always ready to help her if she ever seriously needed it.

The blood kept coming as Draco kept going. The feeling was so significant and somehow disturbingly enjoyable. He felt like every cut he gave himself cleared one obstacle in his path. Draco sat there not caring that he was missing his lessons on his first day. This pain made him look as ugly as he felt. He felt like this mutilation of his arm showed that he cared for people.

Even though Draco didn't know it, this was causing the opposite effect.

********

Lunch came around and Draco felt like he had punished himself enough for one day. He washed his arm of all the remaining dried blood and analized the bright red scar's. After washing the carving knife Draco pulled his sleeve shirt down, and he collected his bag and other equipment. He walked out the bathroom without a backwards glace.

********

Draco sat away from everybody at the Slytherin table during lunch. He was scared that they'd see the faint lines and splotches of blood on his left sleeve and that they'd think he was crazy. They were all wrong, what he was doing was right. He was making up for the pain Professor Dumbledore and or Hermione would receive if she said yes.

Thinking of her Draco looked over to the Griffindor table where Hermione wasn't sitting at yet. This worried Draco. Did this mean she was already at the library too eager to wait for him to arrive? Or was she in trouble? Panic took over Draco as he realised this. No, He was just freaking out over nothing and she would be fine. Why did he feel so protective of her now?

Sighing Draco got up after lunch when all the Sixth year students had a free period and he walked grudgingly towards the library.

Sitting at the back of the room covered by thick shelves Draco waited. He tapped his fingers on the desk praying that she wouldn't come, while his heart fluttered hoping she would.

A stack of books with legs sticking out the bottom and bushy hair coming out the sides came towards him. Draco smiled. Hermione was hilarious and very predictable, even only on the first day she had mountains of books to read and gather information from.

Hermione plonked them on the table in front of Draco and sat across from him. Hating not seeing Hermione's face, Draco moved the whole stack with his right hand to the side.

Hermione looked at his hand with awe and amazement before moving her gaze up his arm and to his face. Draco silently thanked himself for remembering to use right hand to move the books. Hermione would be mortified if she saw his left.

Hermione sighed when Draco didn't start speaking straight away, she folded her arms delicately on the tabletop, questions whizzing through her eyes like a slot-machine.

Draco copied Hermione and crossed his arms on the table. He looked down at her beautiful hands before trailing his eyes up to meet her face.