Chapter Ten

Third Person POV

It didn't take him long to find her. Following her scent, it wasn't hard to follow her to the library. Nodding to Madam Pince, he weaved through the rows and rows of books, following the wonderful smell of apple cinnamon, he found her rather quickly at one of the tables, hunched over her Astronomy text book. He quietly made his way over to her and looked over her shoulder, secretly inhaling that wonderful smell. "Europa is covered in ice. Io is the one covered volcanos." he said, causing her to jump and squeak. She spun around and stared at him wide-eyed.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. Gran-Heromine said you'd need help with your Astronomy homework." he said, straightening up and folding his hands behind his back. She laughed nervously and re-situated herself, a light blush forming on her cheeks. "Um, yeah." she said, looking back to her book. Draco grinned and pulled the chair next to her out before sitting down next to her.

After a while, she became comfortable around him, even started joking with him. He wasn't even helping her with her Astronomy essay anymore, but was working on his own homework. "Is what Heromine and the others say true?" she asked after a moment of silence. He looked up from his Alchemy homework and noticed she was looking at him with curious eyes. He took a deep breath and put down his quill. "What is it people say?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Don't act like you don't know. You'd have to be deaf not to hear what people say about you behind your back." she said, doing the same so they were facing each other. "I've only been here practically two days and I've heard some pretty terrible things about you." she added and he grinned. "Well, you know how people like to gossip." he said, edging around the subject. "Well, Heromine and Neville told me about what happened during your sixth year and what happened with Voldemort. Is it true?" she asked and he sighed.

"Yeah. It is. But," he started, taking a light breath before continuing. He needed her to know why he did what he did. "A lot of what I did was because I wanted my father's approval. Before I started my first year, my father had told me I should make it my priority to befriend Potter. That way, when the Dark Lord return, he could use my 'friendship' with him to his advantage. I decided, and I'm still not sure why till this day why, but I rebelled against my father and ended up making Potter hate me.

"It just sort of stuck through the years and only last year did we actually come to some sort of understanding. But after that, and scoring lower in my classes than Heromine, my father was furious." he explained, feeling his mood souring as he told her things he hadn't even told Blaise. "I'm sorry." she said and he looked up at her surprised. "Sorry, what?" he asked, not sure what he'd just heard. She gave me a soft smile and chuckled. "I said I was sorry. That you lost your relationship with your father." she explained and he blinked a few times before smiling at her.

"Thanks. You're, uh, you're the first person to ever apologize for that." he said and she smiled. "Well, someone should." she said and he laughed.

"Sorry to interrupt you two, but I'm getting ready to close up for the night." Madam Pince said, dragging their attention to the older woman. They both nodded and packed up their books before heading for the exit. "Oh, Mr. Malfoy!" Madam Pince called before the two left the library, causing them to stop and turn to the librarian. "Professor Dumbledore wishes to see you after dinner." she said and Draco nodded before opening the door and holding it open so Taylor could go through first.

"So, you've asked your questions about me. It's my turn now." Draco said as they leisurely made their way down the darkened corridor. "Fair enough." Taylor laughed and Draco couldn't help but grin. "What are your parents like?" he asked, honestly curious since she knew about his parents. "They're great. Or at least I think they are. My dad works for the Ministry. In Muggle Affairs. With the Wizarding community the way it is back in America, he didn't get much work. That's probably the biggest reason we moved here." she told him and he waited for her to continue.

"What about your mother?" he asked when it didn't look like she was going to continue. She hesitated for a moment and bit her lip, causing him look at her in confusion. "She's, um, she's a...muggle doctor." she stuttered and he understood why she was so nervous.

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Taylor's POV

I didn't want him to think less of me because I was a half-blood. I couldn't begin to explain how happy and terrified I was when he approached me. There was no way I would've been able to approach him myself. And I was more than glad he had now that the initial nervousness had dwindled away. I felt comfortable around him now. Well, until he asked about my family. He was a pure-blood. There was no doubt he'd think less of me because of my blood status.

If what Heromine and Neville had told me the night before, he'd look at me with disgust before leaving me by myself. Despite what he'd told me in the library, he had still been raised to be prejudice against those who were deemed "unworthy". I didn't know why, but I really didn't want that to happen. I wanted him to view me as an equal. Not less than.

Shaking my head, I pushed all of those thoughts to the back of my mind.

"What kind of doctor?" he asked, causing me to look at him wide-eyed. He laughed and nudged me a little with his shoulder. "I told you. A lot of things changed over the summer. I might not have a particular...love for muggles, but they're not below us like I was taught as a child. So, what kind of doctor?" he said me and smiled. I chuckled and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "She works with kids. A pediatrician. She loves working with kids and making them feel better when they're sick." I told him and he smiled. "She sounds like a nice woman." he said and I grinned.

"I guess the old saying's wrong." I said after a moment of thought and he raised an eyebrow. "You can teach a dog new tricks." I laughed and was about to walk into the Great Hall ahead of him, but he grabbed my arm. I looked back at him surprised and he smiled, letting his loose grip on my arm go. "Seventh years are going to Hogsmeade tomorrow. Are you going?" he asked and I grinned, feeling something I've never felt before. "Maybe." I said nonchalantly before heading into Hall, grinning at the new found boldness before sitting down next to my new found friends.