Chapter 4

11 years later

Closing her book, Hermione leant her head against the window and sighed, watching her breath steam up the window. Despite it being the middle of October, winter was already approaching Hogwarts. She let her mind wander.

It had been roughly eleven years since she had seen the love of her life. Could she call him that?

Yes, she could.

He was the reason after all, that her love life had never been successful. The reason she never got far with Viktor, Cormac or Ron. Godric knows she had tried to enjoy all three relationships, but her conscience had constantly reminded her about him. She had always wondered what he might look like now. He had to be eighteen, like her. Would he still have the white-blond hair she had always been so fond of? Suddenly, she was reminded of someone else she knew who had white-blond hair, and she felt a scowl form on her face.

Draco Malfoy.

Hermione remembered the first time she ever laid eyes on him. It was her first trip on the Hogwarts Express, in her first year. She had been helping Neville track down his escaped toad. She was running down the corridor outside of the compartments, glancing inside to see if there was any sign of the toad. She then came across one, right at the end of the corridor, which she knew she hadn't checked before. She noted there were three boys, first years like herself, sitting inside. One was huge, and was stuffing Bertie Botts Every-Flavoured Beans into his mouth. Gregory Goyle. The other one, who sat beside him, was shorter, but only by a few inches. He was laughing at something the boy opposite had said. Vincent Crabbe. Then her eyes fell onto to the third boy. He looked up at the same time, and Hermione felt her heart perform a strange jig under her ribcage. Silver grey eyes and pale blond hair. Hermione thought her legs were about to give out from beneath her. And the boy just wouldn't look away. They were both trapped in their own private world, where it seemed like nothing could disturb them. Hermione came crashing back to reality when she felt a hand grab her arm. Breaking eye contact with the scarily familiar boy, Hermione whipped her head round a found that the offending hand belonged to Neville.

"Don't bother going in there Hermione," he said, "I've checked it already, and Trevor isn't there. And besides," he dropped his voice to a whisper, "you don't want to talk to that lot."

"What do you mean?" Hermione enquired.

"I just mean they're a right nasty bunch." Neville explained, "they'll all be in Slytherin, I'm sure of it."

Hermione looked back into the compartment, and found the boy was still staring at her. Before she could do anything else, she felt Neville tug her away, eager to resume the search for his lost pet.

It was at the Sorting Ceremony that Hermione finally found out his name. Draco Malfoy. And Neville was right. Draco, Crabbe and Goyle ended up in Slytherin. Hermione remembered thinking… no… hoping that Draco was Ace. But then started the six years of torment, and that thought had quickly been shoved out her head. Especially when he started calling her Mudblood. Never had Hermione met someone so foul, so narcissistic, so arrogant…..the list goes on. And it didn't help that now they were both Head Boy and Girl.

After the war, Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest of their year were given the option to stay on for an eighth year, to complete their N.E.W.T.S. Hermione immediately jumped at the chance, but her two best friends decided to move on to the Ministry of Magic, so they could both train to be Aurors. Neville, Luna, Ginny, Lavender and Seamus chose to remain at Hogwarts with Hermione. Professor McGonagall of course, had expected Hermione to stay on, and without hesitation, gave Hermione the position of Head Girl. Hermione had been thrilled, until she heard who Head Boy was.

"Granger."

Speak of the devil. She looked up from her seat on the windowsill and met his face, looking down at her.

"What do you want Malfoy?" she snapped.

His eyebrows rose in amusement.

"Grouchy today, aren't we?"

Hermione continued to glare at him.

"Anyways, I was just wondering what you were doing sitting on the windowsill, staring at nothing. The look on your face just then could rival Looney Lovegood's."

"Her name is Luna," Hermione corrected, "and if you must know, I was just thinking."

"There's a surprise." He said, an arrogant smirk gracing his lips.

'Oh shove off' she said, picking up her book, standing up and strode past him, making sure she knocked his shoulder on the way.

"Clumsy as ever I see!" she heard him call before she slammed the door to her bedroom.

Hermione found that the one disadvantage of being Head Girl was that she had to share a common room with Draco. The Head dorm was located relatively near the Headmaster's office, concealed behind a portrait of the four houses' signature animals. The common room was simple enough, three windows, a few bookcases lining the walls, a couple of comfy chairs and sofas in front of big crackling fire, with a small kitchenette of to the side. On opposite sides of the room were two doors, one labelled Head Boy, the other Head Girl. Hermione's room was decorated in Gryffindor colours of course, and had a small ensuite bathroom attached. Hermione would have considered her living conditions perfect, if there wasn't a parasite right outside her door.

Draco watched as a flustered Hermione slammed the door to her room and chuckled to himself. It was always so easy to wind her up. It was kind of like a game to him. He sat himself down on one of the sofas and closed his eyes.

Eleven years. That's how long it had been since he was torn from his true love. He always thought about her, even now, though he was dating Pansy. Could he really call it dating though?

No, he couldn't.

Draco was sure that for it to be called dating, both participants had to like each other. Whilst that may be the case for Pansy, it wasn't for him. His thoughts were always consumed with her. What did she look like now? He always wondered. Would she still have the same radiating smile? Would her hair still be as bushy as he remembered? Then, another bushy-haired girl wandered into his mind.

Hermione Granger.

He remembered when he first saw her. All those years ago, on the Hogwarts Express. He had been sitting in one of the compartments with his old friends Crabbe and Goyle. Goyle was wolfing down the Every-Flavoured Beans as if his life depended on it, and Crabbe had been laughing at one of his jokes. Draco was about to tell another when, out the corner of his eye, he saw someone stop outside the compartment. Assuming it was that stupid Longbottom kid again, he turned to tell him again that his stupid toad wasn't in here, when his eyes met a girl. His breath seemed to be ripped out his lungs. This girl's eyes were chocolate, just like hers. And that mop of brown hair was too similar. And try as he might, he couldn't tear his eyes away from her. A thousand hours could have gone by, and he wouldn't have noticed. But it was all over too quickly, when Longbottom had caught her attention. He still continued to stare at her while she talked to him. Then she met his gaze again. He was just about to go outside and talk to her when she was reluctantly dragged away.

'Do you know her?' asked Crabbe, who had just witnessed the whole thing.

Draco came out of his dazed state.

'I…' Draco began, 'I'm not sure.'

Later, at the Sorting Ceremony, he learned her name. Hermione Granger. Draco though, was certain that she was his Stella. He cast that thought aside however, when he found out about her heritage. No way on Salazar's soul was he going to love a Mudblood. And as the years dragged on, more and more things about her started to irritate him. The fact she always had her nose in a book. How she somehow knew the answer to every fucking question the teacher asked. That she somehow became friends with the Potter prat and the weasel. But what irked him about her most of all, was that she was better than him in almost all of their classes. He had reluctantly admitted it to himself on many occasions. Nor would his father let him forget it. And now he was trapped with her as a fellow Head.

When the war ended, he and his family had been forced to flee once more. The attempt however was futile, as they were caught by the Ministry only a few weeks later. He and his mother were dismissed of all crimes, as the Ministry understood they were only doing what was necessary to survive. His father however, couldn't buy his way out of punishment this time. He was sentenced to life in Azkaban. Not that Draco or his mother particularly cared.

When the news reached McGonagall about Draco's apparent innocence, she owled him immediately, giving him the same opportunity as Hermione. At first, he refused to go, trying to explain to his mother that every Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and (possibly) Slytherin would want to throw him off the highest astronomy tower. Narcissa though, managed to make him change his mind. He had regretted his decision immediately when he first stepped foot on the train. Everyone looked at him as if they couldn't believe he had the nerve to come back. He was relieved however, when he arrived at the Slytherin end of the train, and found three of his old friends waiting for him, Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott and Pansy. There were also three others, Millicent Bulstrode, Tracey Davis and Miles Bletchley. Draco found himself enjoying the company of Blaise and Theo far more than that of Crabbe and Goyle. Both boys seemed more excited about Draco being Head Boy than himself, but then again, they didn't yet know who he would have to constantly work with. Then a couple of days later, Pansy had asked him to be her boyfriend. Draco had only agreed because he knew Pansy would try and stab him in his sleep if he refused.

He opened his eyes and let out a weary sigh. He would give all the galleons in the world for Pansy to be Stella. Or at least, for Stella to be in the same school as him. He stood and walked to his room, which was like Hermione's, except more masculine and decorated in Slytherin colours, deciding now was a good time to go to bed.

Both Hermione and Draco fell asleep that night, thinking of their lost loves. Neither had any idea they were only across the hall from them.