Chapter One

Draco always knew that he was privileged, arrogant, and truthfully, a jackass. He didn't care, he just loved the power that came with it. He was able to get almost everything he wanted. Almost. There was one girl that had completely blindsided him, almost making him want to change. Almost. If only stupid Hermione Granger hadn't come to the Yule Ball all dressed up and dazzling, maybe then he'd be able to sleep at night instead of regretting everything he had done to her. Months had passed, and there were times where he thought he'd gotten over his delusion, but then he'd have a dream about her. Kissing her. Holding her. Laughing with her. And he would wake up, just as delusional as before. He refused to admit he had a crush on her, it was just too wild an idea. She was a mudblood after all, muggle born, and totally below him. So, he pushed her away. For years he denied what he was feeling, and you know the rest. He helped the Dark Lord rise. He had power, but he felt more lonely and broken than ever. So, when he saw Hagrid carrying Harry and the way that Hermione was looking at his limp form, Draco knew he would do anything to save her, even if it meant risking his own life. And he did.

Now the summer was over, and Draco was retaking his seventh year. He wanted to try to start over, he wanted to be better, and more than anything, he wanted her. She was dating Weasley, but everyone knew they were better off as friends. Besides, Draco was a slytherin, cunning to the core, and more determined than ever. This would be his story of how he got the girl.

*

It was September 1st, the first day back to Hogwarts. Draco had been living at Hogwarts for the first bit of summer helping to rebuild alongside some other students and professors, but had stayed with his mother for the latter half. Though he knew it wouldn't be enough, he still wanted to try to earn back some respect from his peers. When he had helped Harry in the Battle of Hogwarts, he had lost all of his connections with his Slytherin brethren, but helping out over the summer, he had made some new friends. It was them who he stood with on the platform. Leanne Noman was a sweet fourth year Hufflepuff who he had mistaken for a Weasley at first. She had a halo of red frizzy hair and was covered in freckles. Her clothes were almost always covered in dirt or dust and her knees always covered in bandaids. She was very kind, even to Draco, but if you let her she would talk your ear off about her massive collection of plants. Even then, she was balancing three potted plants in her arms and had even coerced Draco and Silas to carry one each. Silas Greene was a Slytherin too and only a year younger than Draco. He had never spoken outright to either of them without encouragement, but was very considerate in his actions. His parents had pulled him from school the year before after hearing stories of the changing condition of Hogwarts. However, they encouraged him to go help repair the school (they were both Hufflepuffs in their time) because they lived rather close by.

Standing on the platform made Draco quite anxious. In past years, he was confident and able to walk with swagger. Now, he didn't know who he was or who he was supposed to be. He had only one goal, one plan, and the rest of life was guesswork. He was grateful to his new friends, without which he most certainly would have been panicking.

As they boarded the train together and found an empty compartment, Draco caught a glimpse of the Weasley girl and Hermione hugging Ron and Harry goodbye. The latter two had already begun training to become Aurors while the girls had planned to finish school. Draco watched her give a light kiss to Ron and instantly felt anger flare inside him. He struggled to control it, but his instinct was strong. He sneered at them until Leanne finally tugged him into his seat.

"Calm down Draco" she said, "I swear I can see steam coming out of your ears. They're all red and everything."

Draco covered his ears, earning a belly laugh from Leanne and a chuckle from Silas who had been observing this interaction in silence.

"Oh that's Ginny! Would you like me to ask them to sit with us?" And without waiting for his response stuck the entire top-half of her body out the window before waving in their direction and yelling, "Oi Ginny! Grab your friend and come sit with us!"

Draco tugged her back into the compartment and hissed, "What the bloody hell Leanne! Those two hate me! And rightfully so!"

"Aw come on Draco lighten up! You've changed so much they won't even recognize you. You even look different after you let me give you a perm!" Leanne guffawed.

Draco couldn't help but blush. After the trio had spent the night with the Greenes, he had woken to find that Leanne had permed his hair into tight curls. She said it was revenge for all the comments he had made about her hair.

"You're lucky I didn't dye it too!" She had claimed, "Then you and I both could be a… how did you put it? Leprechaun on crack? Now you only look like a sheep!"

He had been absolutely horrified, but despite his best efforts, he couldn't make it go away. Luckily, his mother had helped him learn to style it somewhat, but he still felt ridiculous every time he looked into the mirror.

Defeated, Draco retreated into the farthest corner of the compartment, curling in on himself until he took up as little space as possible. He didn't dare to look up, even when he heard the door open. Not even when he heard someone stop in their tracks. He could feel her eyes on him, but he couldn't bring himself to look up. He felt shameful, knowing the pain he had caused her for so many years, knowing that she was in a relationship, and knowing that he wanted her despite all of it.

"Hiya Leanne. Um, if this compartment is occupied we'll go somewhere else." Ginny said tentatively.

"Not at all! These are my friends Silas and Draco. We were all volunteers this summer to help rebuild Hogwarts! I have to be honest I put a little bit more attention into the greenhouses than I should've. I know that…'' Leanne continued but Hermione had stopped listening. She couldn't believe that he was here. She thought he would've gone straight to work like Harry and Ron, but here he was. And more than that, he had changed. Not only did he look different, but the powerful aura that used to radiate off him was gone. He looked… broken. Draco Malfoy hadn't even looked up at her yet. She knew he felt her stare, but he hadn't reciprocated it.

The horn blew, signaling the train's departure. Ginny and Hermione quickly sat down as the bubbly girl continued to retell her summer's events. Everyone seemed to be more relaxed, except for Draco who was still coiled into the very far corner of the compartment looking as if he was trying to disappear. It was odd to see such a tall, muscular boy in such a position. It almost made Hermione laugh, but she resisted, instead deciding to tune back into Leanne's story. Apparently, she had almost died at the hands of the giant Squid three times.

As the long train ride continued, Draco felt himself relax bit by bit. It helped him to watch the scenery pass by. At one point, Silas casually handed him a shoelace. Over the summer, Silas had taught him how to do various knots, something he said helped him to calm down when he felt anxious. So, Draco tied and untied knots, hoping that no one was watching him, until he was relaxed enough to even join the conversation a bit. He was delighted to see that Ginny didn't seem to hold any prejudice against him. He wasn't able to bring himself to talk to Hermione, but did glance her way anytime he thought no one was looking.

Hermione thought it was odd that Draco was glancing her way every so often. She felt like he had something to say, but couldn't imagine what he would have to say to her. If he was like his usual self, he was probably trying to come up with a really good insult. However, Hermione had a feeling that Draco was trying very hard not to be like his usual self. Even when he spoke up in conversation, he made sure not to dominate it or say anything mean. He talked quidditch with Ginny some. Apparently he had been decidedly ostracized from the team. When asked about the context around this he simply shrugged.

"Don't let him fool you." Leanne spoke up, "He's devastated that he won't get to play. I told him to go to Slughorn about it but he insists that he doesn't want to cause trouble. We played a good 'ole match at the Greene's house this summer. I got to ref while Silas and Draco played against Mr and Mrs Greene. You should've been there, it was absolutely comical. See Mrs Greene had never…"

At this point Draco was blushing so bad he was sure it was visible. He attempted to cover his ears, but his curly hair was just short enough on the sides to leave them bare. He heard a snort come from Hermione to which he glanced at her questioningly. 'Are you laughing at me?' She returned his look before quirking her eyebrow and smirking. 'Ya. What are you gonna do about it?' Draco returned the smirk. Suddenly, Hermione frowned and turned her gaze to the ground. Draco couldn't help but be hurt. What had he done? He knew he shouldn't have interacted with her, but had he really made her uncomfortable? He resigned himself to his original, squished position until the train finally pulled in the Hogsmeade station. He quickly pulled on his robe, promised to meet up with Leanne the following day, and fled from the compartment.

Hermione was left baffled by the stranger she had met today. The man she saw couldn't possibly be the boy who tormented her for years. He couldn't be the boy who joined forces with Voldemort. He sure did look like him and sounded like him, but his personality had had a dramatic shift. Maybe the boy had turned into a man. Draco Malfoy, a gentle man. As she rode the carriages to Hogwarts for her very last time she couldn't help but feel that this year would not be quite like she had expected.