Fireflies, by Owl City

Draco walked down the hall towards the library. He didn't know quite why he was going there but something was drawing him back. He knew Granger would not be there nor probably even be awake at this time of morning but he could use the time alone regardless. Besides, breakfast was not for almost two hours and Herbology followed directly after. So he had some time to spare. Draco kept his stride even but his heart still raced at the thought of seeing her.

In the weeks following the boggart incident, Draco couldn't bring himself to talk to her. No matter how many opportunities he'd been given, he just... couldn't do it. She probably hated him for what he had said. He wouldn't blame her if she never spoke to him again. He deserved it. He'd said horrible things, and pushed her away. And if that hadn't been horrible enough, he called her a mudblood. Not only a mudblood. A filthy... little... mudblood. Draco tried to convince himself that it was for her own good but guilt ate away at his heart. Or what was left of his heart.

Every time he said that word a part of him felt lost. Like he didn't even know who he was anymore. But the truth was, he never had. Draco had never known who he truly was or what he was capable of. His father always told him he was destined for great things... but Draco didn't want to do great things. He wanted to do good things, that were honorable and right. But Draco didn't know if he could do it. He didn't know if he could no a better person.

What Draco did know, was that he was a horrible person, unworthy of her kindness. Unworthy of her friendship. And unworthy of her love. Draco startled at that last word. Love. Did he want her love? He had never known what love felt like. The idea scared him. But he wanted to know what it felt like. And he wanted to feel it with her. Draco wanted her to love him. But who was he kidding. She could never love him. Draco wasn't the hero who got the happy ending. He was a villain, just like his father. Draco hung his head and winced at the thought. Granger would never fall in love with a monster like him. For who could ever learn to love... a beast?

At the sound of running footsteps, Draco stopped in his tracks and spun around. "Malfoy! Malfoy, wait up!" Granger called, running as fast as she could in his direction. Draco shook his head. Had he heard her correctly. Was she actually calling his name? Draco stood, frozen on the spot and stared at her, stunned. She yelled his name once more before running smack dab into him.

"Oh!" She gasped as they collided. Draco caught the majority of her weight but the impact caused him to topple. This time, they fell forward, and Draco thrust his hands out to stop the fall. Catching himself with one hand on the ground, he wrapped his other arm around her waist. Realizing she was about to hit her head, he quickly pulled her against himself, preventing her from falling against the ground.

Granger breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that she was only inches from the stone floor. She looked up and met Draco's eye and her eyes widened. They were so close he could feel her breath. Their noses almost touched and Draco gave her a genuine smile. When she looked amazed his smile then turned into a smirk. "We must stop meeting like this."

She blushed and placed her hands on his chest and shoulder to keep Draco from leaning any closer. Then, breaking eye contact she looked at the ground. "Yes. That would be nice."

He arched an eyebrow. "You just couldn't stay away, mm, Granger?" He purred with a sly smile.

She tilted her head a fraction so that they were not so close. "You wish, Malfoy."

Draco frowned and dropped her, letting her fall to the floor. She grunted and he smirked. "Hey!" She said rubbing the back of her head.

Draco sneered. "Next time I'll let you hit the ground. That was not nearly as much of an impact as you would have had, had I let you fall."

Hermione winced. "Sorry." He looked at her with resentment. What was she playing at? First she came running after him. Then she practically ran him over. Now she was apologizing? Confusion riddled his mind and he growled.

Draco stood and brushed out the wrinkles in his robes and smoothed back his hair. "What were you trying to do anyway, Granger? Run me over? Because you succeeded!"

She gave him a mocking smile. "Oh ha ha, very funny, Malfoy."

Draco ran a hand through his hair and flashed a smile. "Yes, I'm very funny that way."

Granger rolled her eyes. "Got it, Malfoy. You've had your fun. Now stop being a prat."

His eyes widened and Draco growled, his anger rising. "What do you want, Granger?"

"I don't want anything."

"Then what's wrong? Do you need me to save you from McGonagall again?"

She gasped then growled and screamed at him. "Must there always be something wrong for me to want to talk to you?!"

Draco stopped short. "You... want to talk to me?" He asked before realizing that she must be playing with him. Why would she want to talk to him?! "Don't make me laugh, Granger."

Hermione's eyes grew wide and a flame entered them. "Draco Malfoy you are the most conceited... inconsiderate... repulsive..." she screamed but he didn't let her finish. Draco quickly put his hand across her mouth to silence her, glancing down the hall for any wandering students.

When the coast was clear he looked back and met her impatient glare. "Fine, fine! Inform the whole school why don't you?" When she flashed him a death stare he sighed. "What then? Why did you have to talk to me? What is it?" He asked hurriedly, glancing down the hall again.

Granger huffed and pushed his hand away from her mouth. "For your information, Malfoy I came to give you something."

"Give me...?" He stared at her in surprise then scowled. "What could you possibly have..." Draco froze when she held out a small brown paper package. He stared at her in shock. She was giving him a gift? The muggleborn Gryffindor Princess giving The pureblood Slytherin Prince a gift? Unheard of!

He looked at her skeptically. "What's the occasion?"

She batted her lashes looking so innocently sweet. "Does one have to have a reason to give a gift?"

"Fine. Then what's the catch?"

She rolled her eyes, losing her patience and shoved it into his hands. "There is no catch, Malfoy."

He raised an eyebrow. "There's always a catch."

"Oh for Pete's sake! Just open it already!"

"Fine then!"

Draco ripped it open to reveal a small blue book. It was slightly tattered and worn but in good shape. The top read The Chronicles Of Narnia, with the number two beside it. Draco studied the book cover. The title was written in some kind of Wizarding font. He could tell that. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Right below the title was a golden circle with a lion in the center. Draco looked up. "Is this... a muggle book?" Granger nodded and Draco scoffed. "And what makes you think I would read this? I'm a pureblood Granger, I don't go around reading muggle nonsense."

He held to the book up about to drop it at her feet when she gasped and her eyes began to fill with tears. "Please! Don't..." she whispered the last word. She looked down. "My... my parents gave me that book when I was little."

Draco looked to the book in his hands. He opened the cover. The inside was inscribed. "To our dear little princess. Happy Birthday, Hermione. With all our love, Mother and Father." Draco looked at Granger as he closed the book. He didn't understand it. Why would she give him something that meant so much to her? From the looks of it, she had owned it for a very long time. It was obviously something that had a great deal of sentimental value. Yet, she had chosen to give him. Even after everything he had done to her. Draco shook his head. Maybe he was just reading too much into it.

Draco met her eye. "Why would you give me this?"

Granger tilted her head slightly. "I thought that you might need it more than I do."

"What do you mean by that?" He tilted his head to meet her eye.

She hesitated but her eyes softened and her gaze became warm. "Sometimes, books can give us the thing we seek most. Adventure, love, a family, an escape. They provide the relief for that sense of longing you feel."

"And what makes you think I long for those things?"

She looked him dead in the eye. "Because... I can see it in your eyes."

Draco sighed and lifted his chin, holding out his hand. She looked at him hesitantly then took his hand and allowed him to help her up. Once she stood, beside him, Draco held up the book. "I assume you'll want this back when I am finished?"

Granger gave him an odd look. "Of course not. It was a gift."

"You'd give me your own copy? Why? You could have gone out and bought a separate copy to give me."

"Yes, but this copy has more meaning. That's why I decided to give it to you." She said giving him a sincere look. He wasn't quite sure what it meant, but he intended to find out.

Granger flashed a know it all smile and turned on heel and began to walk away. "Hey Granger?!"

She looked back. "Yes Malfoy?"

He flashed her a daring smile and squinted his eyes slightly, then asked the question that he had been dying to know the answer to. "Do you really find me repulsive?" He teased.

Granger lifted her chin and the sides of her lips curled. "As long as the sun is attracted to the moon, I shall be repulsed by you."

With that, she spun around and walked away. Draco stared at her retreating figure and gaped. How could one person be so vexing and... and annoying yet so irritatingly genuine? Draco ran a hand through his hair, letting out an exasperated groan. She was positively maddening! He dropped his hand to his side and looked at the book in his other. Perhaps he should give it a chance. She had gone out of her way to ensure he be given it, at least he should try.

Later that night, Draco curled up in a green armchair in the Slytherin common room. With the book in one hand, he pulled out his wand with the other and tapped it once. "Lumos." A small blue light illuminated the tip of his wand, allowing Draco to see and he laid the book in his lap. When he opened it to the first page, Draco grudgingly began to read. But as he did, something slipped from the books pages. Looking to the small piece of paper that had fallen in his lap, Draco closed the book. He picked up the small folded paper and opened it. Written inside was one word. Aparecium. Draco's brow wrinkled as he studied the paper. The revealing charm? Why would Granger... Then it hit him. She had put some kind of secret message in the book with invisible ink.

Carefully handing the pages, Draco turned to the first page and began to recite the incantation while running the tip of his wand across each page. "Aparecium. Aparecium. Aparecium." The words came out in a hushed songlike voice. All along the the pages small handwritten notes began to appear, glowing a blue-purple at first then fading into black ink. Draco admired her neat and organized script. Each jotting told him something about the book... or rather, something about her view of the book. With a deep breath, Draco began to read, stopping to read each note.

It did not take long for Draco to become immersed in the story, reading each little note Hermione had written. He found himself enjoying the plot and seeing it from her point of view. And oddly enough, he was connecting with the muggle Pevensie children. But when he came to the part where Lucy stumbled upon the lamppost his breath hitched and he froze. He... he knew this story. After she saw the lamppost, she ran into the... Draco flipped the page. The faun! He knew it!

Then he stopped short and closed the book. The Chronicles Of Narnia. Narnia! Of course! How had he not remembered it before?! He knew this story! It was the very same story his mother used to tell him when he was a young boy. That was one of the very few happy memories he could gather from his childhood. Draco blinked several times to ensure that tears would not enter his eyes. He wouldn't be caught dead crying! He was Draco Malfoy, for Pete's sake! He couldn't be seen crying over some silly childish story. No matter how many memories it brought back, or how nostalgic he felt thinking about them.  Draco shuddered and looked back to the book. He let out a long breath and began to read again. Back to the lamppost. But he stopped before reading any further to study one of Granger's neat little inputs.

"This has always been my favorite part. Whenever I read this part, I close my eyes and imagine the beautiful lamppost surrounded by pine trees all covered in snow. It's faint orange glow making a warm hue in the mist of the night..." Draco trailed off. He could almost hear her dreamlike voice as he read her beautiful handwriting. There was something magical about the way she described it. But the magic she described was unlike any kind of magic they could teach at Hogwarts. It wasn't physical magic brought on by a wand. It was something much more beautiful and miraculous.

It took several seconds for Draco to realize he had been staring into space. He shook his head and studied her little notes further, tracing each letter with his finger. This book meant more to her than he would ever know. The way she described each little thing as something breathtaking would leave him in awe. So one question kept nagging at him... Why would she give him it? When it obviously meant so much to her, why had she given it to him? He couldn't help but feel something at the small gesture. He wasn't sure what it was that he felt. Fondness? Gratitude? Happiness? That was something he had not felt in a very long time. But how could such and insignificant book bring him happiness?

Draco already knew the answer. Because it was hers. And because it was hers, it was far from insignificant. Granger had known all along what he needed. It was her who had given it to him. Draco shook his head and growled. He couldn't think such things. He wouldn't! How could he allow himself to fall for her? To have feelings for her? Her blood was tainted, she was a... a... mudblood?! Draco's eyes widened and he berated himself. How could he call her that again? After everything she'd done for him how could he even say that name? He was nothing more than a rotten, selfish git. She had been nothing but kind to him and Draco had the audacity to call her that horrible, rotten name. She deserved better than that.

Tears began to fill his eyes, and this time, he allowed them to fall. Draco had pushed away everyone he had ever cared about... and it was his own fault. It was his own fault he was unhappy and alone. There was no one to blame but himself. "You could be so much more than that." Her voice rang through his head and for once Draco listened. He wouldn't be the selfish git he believed himself to be any longer. He was better than that, and he could be more than that. No. He would be more than that.

With a sigh, Draco shut the book and closed his eyes. He'd had enough for one night. His mind was running in circles like a toy train. He just needed to clear his head but he wasn't ready to sleep just yet. Draco made his way to his dorm where Crabbe, Goyle and Zabini were sleeping, far from soundlessly as Goyle snores loudly. Draco pointed his wand at Goyle and recited the silencing charm under his breath before entering the bathroom. Perhaps a hot shower would help to clear his mind and help him sleep better.

After a few minutes under the hot stream of water, he felt a warm sensation in his chest. And he was certain it wasn't from the heat of the water. It was her. He couldn't stop thinking about her. And no matter how much Draco berated himself for it, he didn't want to stop thinking about her. From her bushy golden brown hair, to her warm caramel colored eyes, to her glossy pink lips.  Draco sighed softly. All of his life, Draco had felt cold and alone. But Granger made him feel... warm inside. She made him feel like he wasn't alone. And maybe, just maybe... he wasn't. Maybe he didn't have to be alone. Draco thought of her, and oddly enough, he didn't want to be alone anymore.

Author's Note:

Hello all my faithful readers! Sorry this chapter is shorter than my regular uploads. I really hope you all are enjoying this story so far! Please, please, please don't forget to comment and let me know what you think! The more feedback I get, the faster I will be able to upload chapters! Thank you for sticking to this story!