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She had noticed it the first day at Hogwarts, the resentful glares made from the few pureblooded student forced to attend their last year.
The only exceptions seemed to be two boys that had taken to sitting together, a brown haired boy, whom she couldn't place and Blaize Zabini, who in his blatant disinterest in everything except himself, simply didn't care who had lived, died or been imprisoned.
The Greengrass girls seemed to have it out for her the worst, their father had been found guilty of being a death eater and while Hermione hadn't presented any evidence to prove this, or even been at his trial, Ronald had been the lead Auror and being a member of the Golden Trio, she was guilty by association. It had started off with simple sneers and snide comments made from the side of their mouths. Honestly it didn't bother her, the only thing she felt was pity, they'd been raised to be this way and how sad was that.
It didn't escalate until two months in. She was sitting in the library reading, watching Daphne fiddle with her wand, she new Daphne was almost an equal measure to her in power, but she also knew she was quicker, physically and mentally, so she was content to sit and read while keeping an eye on her. She saw Daphne twitch her wand and she gripped her own, the book in front of her rose in what assumed was the beginnings of the bookbird curse but the book shook slightly and then calmly made it's descent back to the table.
She wasn't the brightest witch of her age for nothing, she knew what had happened, someone had over powered Daphne's curse and placed the book back. But as she looked around, except for the now fuming Daphne, everyone was studying and everything was in perfect order. So who? and why?
It had been months since that first incident and it just kept happening. Someone would try to jinx her and someone else would stop it, even the Slytherins seemed to be puzzled and that just confused her more. They were the house to go to if you needed information or scandalous rumours, so how had anyone managed to slip under their radar?
After the second time she started documenting the people who were around when is happened. The only reoccurring people were Zabini and the brown haired Slytherin, it had to be one of them, but why? It echoed in her mind over and over and was surely driving her insane.
Two weeks before graduation she found Zabini in the Library alone. She plopped herself opposite him and stared until he looked up at her seemingly exasperated. "Is there something I can do for you Miss Granger?" He drawled in the bored aristocratic tone he dons.
"Why?" Hermione asked blunt and to the point.
She could have sworn the corners of his mouth twitched. "My theory is that it's some misplaced attempt at redeeming himself after the war, but I've never been given a response, merely a grunt and ignored for the week. Perhaps you will inspire the proper communicative skills I know he possesses, be a good little know-it-all and tell us the answer when you do? hmm?" With that he turned back to his work effectively dismissing her.
It was now the night before graduation and she'd had absolutely no luck finding the brown haired Slytherin, she had almost asked harry for his map but she knew it would come with unwanted curiosity. Giving up she wandered into a long-forgotten study room just off the library, only it didn't seem so long-forgotten when she came face to face with the very boy she'd been trying to find for two weeks.
"Why?" Hermione asked gently.
His shocked face slid into a carefully blank expression, he grunted and shrugged his shoulders turning his back on her.
"Why? Tell me!" She insisted. He shuffled but ignored her.
"Why are you protecting me and for the love of Merlin who are you?!" She all but shrieked.
He stilled then and turned to her shocked before a full blown grin slid across his face. Suddenly she felt like she'd never known him at all and she'd just made an awfully embarrassing mistake. Then he smirked and it all slid into place.
He went to leave her standing there shocked and completely disarmed of all her indignant curiosity, but she snapped back to reality just as he got to the door. "Why Draco? I deserve to know." She said in an almost whisper.
She sighed slumping against the door. "I couldn't see you hurt again. I couldn't stand around and watch you be hurt, not after.... Not after Bella. I just I had to do something so I did, to hell with everyone else."
"It isn't your fault. You know that right?"
"If I'd done the right thing..."
"Things might have been different... But Voldemort would have killed your Mother in retaliation, and she wouldn't have been able save Harry and we'd all be dead." She answered bluntly. "Besides you're making the right choices now and if... " she hesitated, "if you need help, all you have to do is ask. You know so long as the hair goes back to blonde, because honestly, if you're favourite victim can't pick you out of a line up there's something right."