by Isis and Sanna
 
 
 

The boy was six back then, so long ago when he still had honey-colored hair rather than the
silver white he now carried. His father, a prominent member of the Ministry of Magic, was
temporarily under the department of Muggle Supervision, a job he despised. Everyday, he went
to work, 'wandering' around the Muggle world, checking suspicious muggle things that might
have been under enchantment. His father especially complained about working with another
wizard by the name of Arthur Weasley, who instead, loved his job.

There was this one time, where his father had to go undercover as a bookstore keeper to check
the books that were sold in a certain bookstore to make sure that they didn't spill any secrets
about the world of magic. The witch who had retired to the muggle world and died under
mysterious circumstances had owned it previously.

One day, the little boy had to be brought to work with his father, for the manor was being
tidied up for the party that was to be held that night. Though the muggle world was strange
and new to him, the sight of so many lovely books awed him, so he was happily occupied as his
father minded the store and searched through the books at the same time.

He poured through the pages of a book about dragons that was meant for young adults,
completely engrossed that he didn't notice a little girl his age, wandering through the same
section he sat in, until she tripped over him.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" the little girl apologized. "I was looking up at the high shelf trying to find a
book about unicorns. I wasn't looking where I was going!"

"It's ok," the boy said, standing up and brushing himself off. "I shouldn't have just been sitting
there in the middle of the aisle where everyone could trip on me."

She looked curiously at his book. "Is that a book about dragons? Wow! They look really cool!"

The boy smiled proudly. "Yeah! They are! I love dragons! I was named in Latin after them. My
name is Draco."

She gave him a shy smile. "I'm Hermione." She looked down at the floor, tilting her head
slightly. "I don't know what or who I was named after exactly, but I read in a lot of books that
in Latin I am a messenger but in Greek I'm the Earth."

They both smiled at each other, now at a complete loss for words. Just then, from the front of
the room, Lucius Malfoy's voice came, "Draco! I'm going to be closing up the store soon! Hurry
and finish with your book!"

"Ok!" Draco answered back, but he had forgotten about his book. Instead he stood there with
the girl, wondering what else he could say.

"Is that your dad?" she inquired. He nodded. "I saw him when I entered the store. He looked
kind of mean," she said meekly.

He shrugged. "He's sometimes like that. He doesn't really like working here, so I guess that's
why he looks extra cross."

Hermione nodded, knowing that grown-ups could get cross when they were at work and they
didn't enjoy it. She wondered why they worked in the first place. "My parents are dentists. Their
office is right across the street from here," she told him, pointing at the building across the
street.

He nodded, though not knowing what a dentist was. He didn't ask though, his father had told
him never to ask muggles anything, lest they suspect anything of them. The store lights began
to close. Looking reluctant, Hermione finally said, "Well, I'd better be going. Bye Draco!"

He waved as he watched her run out of the store and into the building across the street. A
strange feeling began to creep into him. He had never really met, much less talked, to anyone
his age, and a muggle too, no doubt! It was different, but he felt sort of pleased. They seemed
pleasant, much nicer than his father made them out to be.

Hurriedly, he went to his father’s side and waited for him to finish closing shop. Together they
walked out into the cool afternoon air, father and son walking side by side. The former’s
thoughts filled with dark swirling thoughts and the latter’s filled with the nice girl he had just
met.

***

The following morning young Draco begged his father to bring him to the bookstore with him. In
surprise, both his parents asked why. Draco bit the inside of his cheek, remembering the
muggle girl he wanted to see again, but he couldn't tell them that. "The dragon books were so
interesting. They have so much more there than we have here at home, please, father, I think
it's wonderful there!"

Lucius looked miffed at the realization that his son loved the muggle world so. But he and his
wife Narcissa, both very drained from their previous night of being host and hostess to a party
that many wizards and witches attended, did not have the energy to argue with their son. They
agreed.

As Lucius went to work, rummaging once more through possible books, Draco sat in his corner,
continuing to read the books about dragons, wondering if his friend was going to show. And
then finally she came in, and a smile lit both their faces as they saw each other.

They went through all the books about magical creatures together, commenting on what they
liked or disliked about certain creatures. The two children found they had a lot in common, and
enjoyed each other’s company immensely.

For several days, they followed this pattern. Draco would get permission from his parents to
read in the bookstore, while Hermione would go to work with her parents, only to go to the
bookstore and read her favorite books. Lucius was too busy with his work to notice what Draco
was up to, and whether he was talking to muggles or not, he might have cared but didn't see.

They told their secrets to each other, but the world of magic, Draco left out. To Hermione, he
told her that they were rich and had servants, and his mother was a beautiful socialite, made
her wonder why his father worked in the bookstore that he hated so much.

But they didn't talk too much about that, as their parents always told them not to tell strangers
anything about themselves or where they lived. But instead, they shared secrets that were
only known to them. How they felt about the world in particular, or about themselves. They
shared the feeling about the loneliness of being the only child, and the hopes of having another
sibling on the way.

They were only six, but suddenly, the world started to make sense. It was if they had found
their soul mate, the one person in the world who would truly understand them no matter what.
But the whole concept of soul mates was far beyond the boundaries of a six-year-old’s
thoughts, they couldn’t fathom the immensity of what was beginning to brew between them.

One day, after being entranced by all of Hermione's interesting tales of the stores found in the
streets, Draco begged her that they go around, looking by themselves. She had gotten
permission from her parents, as they knew she was a very precocious child and knew what she
was getting herself into. It took Draco awhile longer to get permission, as his father hated the
muggle world. But he figured, the more he would get to know it, the more he'd learn to dislike
it. He finally gave his permission, and some muggle money, and they were on their way.

They wandered around from store to store, first buying themselves a bag full of candy. Draco
was amazed by the different shapes of the chocolates, not only found in the shapes of frogs,
but many others. Hermione especially loved the different flavored candy, made Draco think that
she was lucky she knew the flavors beforehand.

They passed by a sporting store, but didn't stay for long. Hermione wasn't so keen on sports as
she wasn't that good at playing them, and Draco didn't want to show her that he didn't
understand any sport except for Quidditch. They stopped for a good time at the pet store,
Draco being only slightly interested in the lizards, as they were the closest to dragons as any.
So close, yet so far, he thought sadly. Hermione found the orangey-yellow tabby cute, but
unfortunately didn't have enough money to buy him.

They entered a toy store where they ended up spending most of their time, running around and
playing. There was also a magician performing up front, but Draco thought with a smirk that the
wizards he knew could do better tricks than that. They ended up buying small trinkets and
jokes, laughing immensely after playing with them a bit.

It was beginning to get dark, but they decided to stop at one last store. It was an accessory
store, where many teenagers often shopped. This fact of course got the kids interested, what
kind of child their age wasn't interested in growing up, if at least a tiny smidgen? They browsed
through the racks before they both realized they were eyeing a simple necklace with a pendant
bearing the engraved image of a moon and stars. They oohed and ahhed over it, and then
finally resolved to buy one each. Draco bought one with a gold chain, while Hermione bought
one with a silver chain.

They were all smiles as they made their way back to the bookstore, first bringing Hermione to
her parent's office. They hugged each other tightly and thanked each other for the great day.
"Promise me we'll always be friends," Draco asked Hermione solemnly, as they put each other's
necklaces around their necks.

She smiled at him. "Of course! Friends forever!" she vowed, not quite understanding why he
was so serious about this. She didn't know that he had never had a real friend before, because
they were either empty-headed children of his father's friends, or they were taken from him
simply because they weren't from the right families.

They hugged each other tightly again, and then said their good-byes, Draco watching as
Hermione raced up to her parent's office. He then made his own way across the street to the
bookstore where he found his father waiting for him angrily.

"You were associating with a muggle? After I told you several times of their unworthiness and
filth?" he asked in distaste.

The little boy trembled. "She was nice, father. She didn't mean any harm. I-"

"I won't hear another word of it!" Lucius roared. He then closed up the shop and took his son
home where he spanked him and threatened him. Draco sobbed all night long, wondering why
being friends with someone different was so wrong.

***

This went on for several nights, until finally, Draco broke and gave in to his father's wishes. It
had taken him many nights of thinking about his friend, why she wasn't there when he needed
her, many poisonous thoughts coming from Lucius himself.

He grew to hate muggles, and he started calling them 'Mudblood's' as his father did. He slowly
began to turn into that cold-hearted boy that was the splitting image of his father, inside and
out. But not deep inside, though the hate had grown, there was still a part of him that would
never forget his friend. And it lived on in the necklace he wore every moment of his life.

While she in turn, wondered why her friend had suddenly left her. Day after day, she had
waited for him to return, her loneliness slowly beginning to grow into anger, which slowly
began to grow into a passionate distaste. She remained alone in many ways, not making any
other friends along the way to adolescence. She grew up stuffy and a know-it-all. She missed
her friend, but was angry with him for leaving her. She remained wearing the necklace,
wondering when she would meet him again.

As the years went on Hermione stopped waiting for her friend to come back and moved on with
her life. Draco in turn did the same. He grew to hate muggles and it seemed as though he was
destined to follow in his father’s footsteps. Little did they know that they were to meet again.

While aboard the Hogwarts Express for his first year, Draco happened upon the famous Harry
Potter and his friend Weasley. They got into an argument which would have turned into a fight
had Weasley’s pet rat not bitten Goyle.

Draco stormed out of Potter’s compartment so blind with rage that he didn’t even notice that
he’d walked into some one until she hissed, "Watch where you’re going!" at him.

Draco took in the girl standing before him. She had a pretty face, bushy brown hair, large
cinnamon eyes, and slightly large front teeth. "What did you say to me?" Draco asked in a
steely tone of voice.

"I said, watch where you’re going" she replied back defiantly.

Draco had the strangest sense of déjà vu, he knew this girl but he couldn’t remember from
where. " I bet you’re a muggle born." Malice gleamed in his eyes as he said this.

"Is that a problem for you?" she snapped back at him. Inside she was wondering how he could
have known that about her and why did it feel to get like she’d met him before.

"For you, yes." was all he said before he walked off to the other end of the train.

***

An eleven-year-old Draco Malfoy got off the Hogwarts Express. He had just completed his much
discouraging first year in Hogwarts. That Potter boy had caused him much trouble ever since he
had first met him. He hadn’t been ‘ruling’ the school as he hoped he would, instead, he was
looked down upon and made fun of by people other than the Slytherins.

As he stepped into his family’s limousine, he watched from a distance as Potter stood with his
friends, Weasley and the Mudblood. They had made his year miserable, especially that poor
excuse of a pureblooded wizard Weasley. The Mudblood, or Granger, had made some
impression on him the first time he had met her. True she wasn’t exactly pretty, but he couldn’t
pinpoint what exactly got him so affected by her. It was if he had known her before. Draco
shook his head. He hated Mudbloods, and he would never have associated with them.

He watched them with an ominous glare, Granger waving goodbye to Potter, removing her
jacket at the same time due to the warm temperature. A flash of silver around her neck caught
his eye.

He wasn’t exactly sure when he froze, but his eyes never left the necklace around her neck.
The familiar moon and stars pendant. His mouth parted slightly in surprise, he gazed down and
took out his own necklace. It was the same pendant on the necklace, only his was gold.

"Um, excuse me, Master Malfoy," the chauffeur coughed. "We have to get going."

Draco glared at him, but complied by getting into the long and silver Sedan, still deep in
thought. He gazed at his own necklace, and suddenly the memories came flooding back in. His
childhood, a muggle friend, moments spent reading on the floor, sharing secrets, the lovely day
store hopping, and the pretty little girl… named Hermione.

His mouth dropped open in shock. It was her, after all this time, he had been attending the
same school as the only person he ever considered to be a friend. "After all this time…" he
mumbled to himself, trying to recover over the shock. It wasn't that he had forgotten the
necklace's meaning all these years, rather, he had buried it deep in his subconscious, wearing it
automatically without thought.

His eyes flashed. Surely she remembered, how could the perfect-grade muggle girl forget
anything? Had she known all this time, only to treat him this way? She must have. "Our
friendship must have meant nothing to her," he whispered, feeling hurt and betrayed.

"Father was right when he told me that muggles were worthless beings. Sharing a friendship
with them is deadly." Draco closed his eyes in deep thought. "I’ll get back at her for all that
she’s done to me, this I vow! I won’t rest until that Mudblood is miserable for the rest of her
life!"

And then he slowly feel into a deep sleep, his emotions suddenly taking their toll, making him
grow even more weary. He slept a hazy slumber, not being able to distinguish if it was a state
of dreamlessness or if he simply didn’t remember. He wasn’t quite sure whether he wanted to
remember it, maybe memories from the past, or a possible vengeful plot against the muggle girl
who hurt him so. But he rested, his mind filled with troublesome thoughts.

***

It was his second year in Hogwarts, and Draco had managed to convince his father to buy
Nimbus Two thousand and One’s for the whole Slytherin team, which as he had suspected, got
him on the team, and the seeker position as well!

He stood amongst the older Slytherins as they invaded the Quidditch field where the Gryffindors
were already practicing. He smiled darkly at the thought of getting them angry by taking over
their practice time. As the two teams spoke huffily to each other, Draco could only think of
making goody-two shoes Gryffindors suffer.

When they introduced him as their new seeker, Draco could only smirk as they stared at him in
shock. They were afraid, he decided. They know I’ll beat them, I’ll swiftly triumph over their
reject, Potter. The two teams continued to argue and then finally, he heard, "At least no one in
the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in. They got in on pure talent."

He turned his head sharply. That last comment was made by her, his declared enemy. Granger.
Hermione Granger, that girl he used to play with who had torn his heart into two. He lost all his
control. "No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood," he spat out, venom in his eyes.

There was an instant uproar, and Draco saw Flint block the furious Weasley from hurting him.
Weasley tried to curse him but instead his broken wand backfired on him and instead made
slugs come from his mouth.

The whole Slytherin team was rolling on the ground with laughter, and Draco was on all fours
laughing so hard, fearing that if he didn’t continue laughing he might break down and cry at the
thought of such an encounter with the girl he once shared his secrets with.

He saw the hatred in her eyes, and only hoped they mirrored the anger in his own. He only
hoped the distaste covered up his own hurt and pain, that which he tried to remove remained
stuck in his heart.

***

It was his fourth year, the night of the Yule Ball. He had finally given in to his duties as a
high-powered Slytherin and taken Pansy Parkinson with him. What else choice did he have?
She was the only girl who wanted to go with him, the only one.

Draco felt choked all night long, with Pansy squeezing his arm too tightly. But he didn’t miss his
usual opportunity to make fun of ‘Potty and the Weasel’ especially when they looked completely
ridiculous, their dates unhappy as well.

He searched the room with an evil glint in his eye. He hadn’t insulted her yet that night, he was
counting on her to look just as idiotic. His hatred for her had grown and familiar memories only
came back once in awhile, like when he caught himself staring at the necklace he still wore. No
matter how much pain it brought him, he still wore it, well tucked below his shirt.

Only he couldn’t find her. Maybe she wasn’t there. There was some pretty girl with turquoise
floaty robes that seemed vaguely familiar, dancing with Viktor Krum. Realization, soon followed
by immense horror, hit him hard. She WAS Hermione. Somehow, all the insults, all the hatred
vanished from his head. Only one thought remained: She was breathtaking.

With horror, Draco could only stare at her in shock. No longer was she the brainy bookworm,
the thesaurus of insults; she was so beautiful, she captured his heart once more. A small smile
formed his lips to his alarm, but he began to remember one of the secrets they shared.

"I want to be a beautiful princess when I grow up," little Hermione declared with a smile.

"Looks like she got her wish," he murmured to himself, still awed by her exquisiteness. It was
then that he realized he could never truly hate her for what she had done to him, or may do. He
was falling in love with her again, something he had done before but hadn’t been aware of it
until that very moment. No longer could he deny his feelings for her by hiding it behind a wall of
loath, it was all lies; he had been in denial from the start.

Watching her miserably from a far, Draco concluded that he would forever carry a torch for the
first and only girl ever to have touched him in a way that was never to be forgotten. But he
knew he was a Malfoy, rich and powerful and with responsibilities to live up to. He had to
protect his bloodline by marrying a pure-blooded witch. He could never profess her feelings for
her and live.

He shamefully hung his head with the conclusion that he could never do what he wanted most
to do, realizing that he was plainly and simply a coward. Draco stood up abruptly from the
table, telling Pansy that he wasn’t feeling too well and excused himself to head up to his room
with his troublesome thoughts.

Yes, his feelings for her were there, and there was nothing he could do about them. He spent
the rest of the night staring at his necklace, a miserable image of the years to come without her
at his side coming to mind.

***

The Dark Lord glared angrily at the sky, furious at what he was reading through them. A
prophecy had spoken of one of the great members of the dark side to be turned by love, but he
had tried to will it with all his power for it not to happen to his chosen heir. But it had
happened.

"Call my Death Eater, Lucius," Voldemort ordered the trembling Wormtail, his servant.

"Y-yes my lord," he bowed, shaking the whole time.

In a few seconds, Lucius Malfoy appeared in the presence of his master. He bowed, kissing his
robes. "You called, master?"

The being once formerly known as Tom Marvolo Riddle scowled. "You have not done a decent
job in raising your son, Lucius. I remember you once bragging to me that he could take your
place in the center of the Death Eaters." He paced fiercely around his servant, determined to kill
him if he dared speak. Thankfully, he didn’t. "Young Draco isn’t so young anymore is he? He’s
been drifting from the dark arts, have you not noticed?"

Lucius began to shake with fear. "M-my lord, he-"

"Silence!" Voldemort ordered and promptly placed him under the Cruciatus curse. After pausing
to listening to his screams of pain, he continued. "This does not go well with my plans, for you
see, my intentions for the boy were to have him help me defeat Potter and be my right hand
servant."

Lucius eyes shone, hearing his hopes for his son being planned through by his master. But
whatever happiness he might have had was quickly squashed by one of Voldemort’s death
glares. "He is turning away from our side, Lucius, and I don’t like traitors. I will have to show
him just how great our power can be."

"Y-you’re not going to k-kill him, are you?" Lucius asked, his face drained of its color.

The Dark Lord gave him an evil smile. "Not yet. A mere warning will do. He shall have once last
chance to decide just where his loyalties lie exactly, and once my men get through with him, he
will know where he has to go." And then Voldemort laughed, an evil laugh that made millions
for miles around feel a chill down their spines.

***

Draco boarded the train for his fifth year in Hogwarts. "Four down, three more to go," he
thought to himself miserably. He hated having to face her everyday, knowing that he harbored
deep feelings for her that she didn’t return. He missed the friend that he had before, even it
had only been for a short while.

But his misery also came from his summer at home. His father came home everyday from some
meeting with Voldemort, angry with him for not participating in the dark arts. He got an earful
everyday of, "you’re almost a full grown wizard, soon my master will be calling for you," or "the
dark side is calling for you, do not turn them down."

Almost everyone had already settled in their seats, he was one of the last to board, as he
arrived late, dreading coming to school. He trudged up the steps of the train, following Crabbe
and Goyle in, which was strange because usually they followed him.

He saw Granger standing with her Gryffindor friends from the corner of his eye. He wanted to
look at her, take in her beauty, but he dared not, lest he was accused of liking a Mudblood,
which was ironically true.

And then he felt it. A searing hot pain hit him, barely missing his heart. He had been hit by a
deadly curse, the Rutilus Cruor. He stared at in shock, watching as blood began pouring out,
soon covering him plenty. And then he blacked out.

Outside, watching as the train pulled out of the station, unaware of a fifteen-year-old boy
inside starting to die, a Death Eater smiled darkly, knowing that he had completed his mission
for his master. The Death Eater had missed his heart on purpose; it was a message from the
dark lord, a warning. He watched as the sight of crimson blood pouring forth from the wound on
his chest and all down the front of his robes made Draco pass out.

Inside the train, students started panicking. Whether he was a Slytherin or not, much more
Draco Malfoy, they didn’t care. Someone was seriously injured and they could be next. There
were no teachers present on the train, as they were all waiting for them at Hogwarts.

Hermione, now a Prefect, was the first person on the scene. Clearly in her element, she took
charge of the situation. Since there weren’t any teachers on the train she felt that it was her
duty to tell her friends to calm down the rest of the students on the train while she healed
Draco’s wounds. As much as she disliked him she couldn’t just let him die.

She had propped him up against a wall, disgustedly wrinkling her nose. "I just want you to
know, Malfoy," she told the unconscious boy, "I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing this because
it’s my responsibility as a human being. Not that you would know anything about that," she
said, muttering the latter.

He looked so innocent and peaceful. So calm, Hermione had to look twice to make sure she was
staring at Draco Malfoy. There was something so familiar about him, but she couldn’t place it
exactly. She pushed the thought aside, remembering she had something more important to do.

All of the blood on Draco’s cloths made it impossible for Hermione to distinguish where the
wound was. She only saw one solution to this problem, unbuttoning his shirt. The idea of doing
so half disgusted her, after all his name alone seemed to leave a bad taste in her mouth, but at
the same time the idea intrigued her. After all she was only human and a teen. *Wicked grin*
when she opened his shirt, instead of focusing oh his wound, she found herself staring
open-mouthed at his necklace. It was the counterpart to her very own! Her insides suddenly
grew cold, her mind suddenly bringing back memories that had seemed to be dead for so long.

Lovely afternoons spent reading books of the supernatural, which was actually reality in the
wizarding world. Secrets that were shared, and a wonderful day spent wandering through
stores and buying trinkets that made every kid smile. Two necklaces, one gold, the other silver,
exactly alike; and of course, a little boy with honey-colored hair. A boy who loved dragons, and
was named after them. The boy was Draco.

She looked at him in shock and horror, coming to grasp the understanding that her worst
enemy was the one person she had thought understood her the most. Her mind couldn’t
register what her eyes and heart could plainly see. Her prized head, the one that had managed
to help her get straight A grades all these years, couldn't help her understand how this had
happened.

"Hermione, are you alright?" Harry’s concerned voice broke through her thoughts.

"Yeah, why?" Hermione said, tearing her eyes away from Draco’s necklace.

"You….. er… we thought you where in shock or something, on account of all the blood," Ron
answered. Secretly, he smirked thinking that she was in shock by seeing Malfoy’s pale chest.

"Oh…… um yeah." She stopped speaking, not looking at anything else but his necklace. Harry
and Ron could tell there was something wrong with Hermione so instead, Harry took the
initiative to heal Malfoy by uttering the words, Novus Viscus, healing his would completely,
leaving only a small star shaped scar.

They took Malfoy to their compartment, Hermione following in suit, still silent. Once Harry and
Ron had settled Draco into the compartment they left to go calm down the first and second
years. By leaving they had unintentionally left Hermione alone with her thoughts and a sleeping
Draco. She was fine, she uttered to herself, and she just needed some time to think. A lot of
time, Hermione told herself as she secretly rolled her eyes. This situation she was in was
beyond her.

***

She wandered around the train, trying to think. But her thoughts were empty, as if her mind
was blocking the past memories like she had before.

It wasn't until she found herself entering his compartment to sit down with him that the
memories all came back to her. She found herself smiling as she looked at Draco sleeping
peacefully, seeing the little boy that he used to be. As she gazed down at his necklace, herself
fingering her own, she remembered how nice and fun he was to hang around with that day of
window shopping, how his eyes lit up at the different shapes of chocolates. She understood
now why it had seemed so new to him.

Sighing deeply, she realized how much he resembled that same boy she knew someone so
different than the one she had seen lately. "Did he know all this time? Did he remember me,
and yet, still tried to make my life miserable all these years?" she asked, tears starting to fall
from behind her eyes.

Suddenly it was like she had been brought back in time, and Hogwarts and magic had never
happened. It was like they were still the best of friends again. Every hurtful memory of him she
had, had been wiped away and their childhood renewed in the beauty of yesterday.

She stared at his face, seeing and remembering. Hermione couldn't help but notice how much
cuter and handsomer he looked without the sneer, a calm face reminding her of the rosy cheeks
he had displayed when he was a little boy.

Hermione sat there, staring across the compartment at Draco, the boy she used to call her best
friend. With an aching realization she discovered she wanted his friendship back. She wanted
to go browsing through candies with him, pick out a new pet since they now had enough
money.

She bit her lip with horror, discovering she was longing to be Draco's friend. Draco Malfoy! That
awful, rotten, no-good Slytherin who had made her life hell ever since she had met him. Ok,
Hermione corrected herself, ever since they had re-met in Hogwarts.

She was still staring at the necklace he wore when Draco started to come to. He woke and was
greeted by her face. At first it was a lovely sight, something he had been dreaming about for a
long time. And then he began to remember. He scowled at her. "Remembering?" he asks
sarcastically.

She recoiled in hurt, the pain obvious in her face. "Gee, that's a nice thing to say to someone
who just saved your life!" And then she bit her lip, remembering that Harry was the one who
healed him, she was too shocked by his necklace to do anything.

He started recollecting what had happened when he stepped onto the train, and then had
some suspicions about who exactly was behind all this. But his mind couldn't focus on that, he
seemed to be only aware of her, her necklace, and his own which seemed to be staring at him,
as he was semi-slouched on the seat.

Draco started to finger the cool surface of the pendant, trying to avoid the inevitable
conversation about there shared past. "Draco, I-"

He couldn't help but smirk. "Oh, so now you're calling me Draco? Why?"

"That's what I used to call you," she said softly but firmly, trying to keep her emotions in check.
Inside she felt like crying her heart out, or wanting to tear him into little pieces.

This hit a spot inside Draco. He felt like sinking into the floor or curling up into a little ball and
crying like he used to. But he couldn't break down, not in front of her. It took him all his
strength and courage to utter these next words, "I've already put the past behind me. I wish
you'd do the same." He tried saying this with his usual drawl, but it was difficult.

Hermione found herself biting her lip hard, trying her hardest to keep the tears from rolling
down her eyes. How could he do this to her? How could he just let the past… go? He could see
her hurt expression and tried to pretend it did nothing to him. "How can you be that same
person you used to be?" she asked. "How can you be that same person I used to know and
love?"

Her hurt was slowly being replaced by her anger, which made it easier for her to handle her
overwhelming emotions at the present. Draco used this very same method in handling his life. If
it had anything to do with feelings or emotions, he'd dislike it or block it. He would never even
try.

Draco smirked. "Love?" Hermione blushed a deep red. She couldn't believe she had said that.
"You really loved that little boy you met in that quaint little bookstore who was reading a book
about dragons?" his voice had softened a bit, realizing with surprise that it meant something to
him as it did her.

She stares at him, her gaze piercing through him. "Yes, I loved that boy who I used to share
secrets with and enjoy myself with. He was a part of me that never quite left me," she said,
looking down at her necklace.

Her carefully chosen words hit home to Draco. As much as his pride stopped him, Draco couldn't
resist asking, "Could you still possibly love me now… for the person that I am?"

Hermione feels her heart beating loudly, not believing her ears. Did she hear right? Did that just
come out of Draco Malfoy? The Slytherin who hated her and called her names… the boy she…
loved? Used to love, yes, but love, now?

She gazed into his eyes, surprised at seeing a familiar side of Draco. His intense stare made
Hermione feel herself go red all over, and forced her to break the gaze as she stared out the
window. But his gaze still lingered on her, she felt it, as if it was tickling her skin. He was still
staring at her, and there wasn't much she could do about it. Hermione made eye contact with
him again, feeling uneasy because she wasn't used to seeing him like this, so stiff and
powerful, staring at her as if the world would fall apart if he didn't.

"I could… if you were still that same person that I knew, it's not impossible," she said,
hesitantly, her heart aching, not realizing why exactly. She tried to avoid his gaze as much as
she could, but it was impossible. All it took was a slight glance and she was drowning in his
stormy gray eyes. Astonishment took over her when she saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
She hadn't seen that in almost ten years.

Suddenly, Draco abruptly stood up, and Hermione found herself doing the same. They stood in
front of each other face to face, like they had many years ago, speechless, yet many things on
their mind. He saw her in such a different way, yet, it was so familiar and comforting.

She was beautiful, and he saw it on the inside as well as the outside. It had been many years
since she had opened his heart and touch him, yet she was doing the same thing now, and he
wasn't scared, not in that sense. He felt comfortable with her again, like he could finally be
himself, after all these years.

He grabbed her by her arms, but gently, like he didn't want to break her. His eyes bore into
hers. "I've missed you so much, all these years…." he trailed off, not knowing what exactly to
say.

A small smile forms on her lips, and Hermione could feel a single tear finally fall down her right
cheek. All her emotions, they were all starting to flow freely again. This is what being with him
felt like, and it was like she was finally free again. He used his left thumb and wiped the tear
away. And she could see once more the emotion and affection that he had hid since his
childhood.

He is that same boy I loved, Hermione came to realize. I do love him, she told herself. The Draco
Malfoy I've seen lately was just a scared little boy who grew up that way only because his
father wanted him to be that way. But he is that same person, that same person who could
make me smile and laugh so.

Hermione's smile widened and felt the tears start to flow even freely. This was all Draco needed
to see. Immediately he enveloped her in a tight hug and the two lost friends found another
once more. Draco could feel his own tears start to from but kept it hidden. After all, he did have
some pride as a boy.

It was a very tight hug, all their hidden feelings, past hurt, all of them coming out then and
there. If someone had opened the compartment door then and there, they would have fallen at
the sight of Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger sharing a hug like old friends.

Indeed, the cold heart in him that many saw seemed to melt, melted by the girl, the one girl
that truly owned his heart. Only she alone understood him, only she alone was his soul mate.
The seemingly perfect girl who had hidden a secret for so long finally felt something click into
place. For so long, she had felt empty, like she was missing something. Her jigsaw puzzle was
finally complete, now that she had found him.

Hesitantly, they drew apart and stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity of
drowning in each other's eyes, finding themselves as well as the other. And then, something
truly magical happened. They weren't quite sure why it happened, or if and who decided it to
happen, but their heads leaned closer and closer, until finally, Draco and Hermione's lips met in
a sweet kiss.

It was like nothing either of them had ever experienced before. Later, Draco would swear that
he thought he heard fireworks, while she would claim she saw them. But that didn't actually
happen. It was all in their hearts. Their hearts that became one in that moment.

The two teenagers may seem to be star crossed lovers because of where they came from. But
they had met a long, long time ago, and destiny planned for this to happen. It was not just
something that they happened to go shopping in an accessory store and decide to buy
matching necklaces. It was all planned by someone up above.

She had silver, which was also a Slytherin color, which was a part of him. He had gold, the color
of Gryffindor, which was a part of her. None of them would have seen this the time they were
buying it, but something in their hearts told them to.

It was only a symbol, yet, the necklace was important to them, which is why they always wore
it despite their hardships and 'hatred' of each other. Despite their distance, their love overcame
all that, because of The Tie That Binds.
 
 
 

Hey! This started out as a sem-break project… I started it on the very first day! It was finally posted the end of the week
after, how weird considering it took me only so long to write it! The idea came to me as I was surfing the internet… I don't
remember why or what I saw… but this idea so appealed to me! I wanted to work on "Doomed Love" number two but I
left my outline in school! Until now I'm still lazy to work on that! I get 20 plus emails a day and I don't check my mail
everyday! Today it took me 3 hours to finish checking my mail alone!!! I didn't even finish!!! "Behind the Mask" number 8
probably won't be finished soon.. although I have 8 pages written already! It's far from done!!! Hmm… I smell a dramatic
death scene, hehehe…. According to Isis, Rutilus Cruor means Red Blood in Latin and Novus Vicus means New Flesh.
Aw… I was so disappointed in the reviews of "The Elf, the Love and the Alibi Potion." I was so proud of that story! Other
than Herm and Draco I even put in Harry and Ginny and some other couples! How could you guys not review it?! I know
it's long… but I'm so hurt! =) Please go back and read and review please! Just click my profile name and search for it!
Please! Sorry about the background... this was as kiddie as I could get in such short notice! I was even delayed in posting
this story! FFN.net is so werid lately!!! Isis wants to say that her next chapter, Beautiful Soul and her new fic The Battles
To Come will be up soon, so sit tight and wait for your alert for her stories! Can I just say that ffn.net is so screwy! It
hasn't been sending me my alerts and reviews, and won't even let me enter their page!! Aughh!!! Anyways, take care
guys! PS. has anyone noticed... my a/n keeps getting longer!