Born The Day You Kissed Me

Dear Draco

"Have you seen Draco lately?" Goyle asked Pansy as he sat down across from her for dinner one evening.

For a moment, she refused to answer him. Then looked up at him from under her eyelashes and said, "No Gregory. Besides our lessons, I haven't seen him at all."

"Well then you lot obviously aren't looking hard enough," Blaise suddenly said, hearing their conversation. "I see him all the time."

"Where?" Pansy asked.

"I see him in the corridors and of course during lessons. He has been in the library a lot lately; I always catch him and Granger walking there together. Yet whenever I go to the library, I can't seem to find them," he said while piling meat on a silver plate in front of him.

"Why would he go to the library with her?" Pansy asked, scoffing ungraciously.

"I think they have a project together in Arithmancy," he said, then took a sip of his pumpkin juice. "Oh yea, Draco mentioned a few days ago that they're also working on that big Potions assignment together."

"But she's not even his partner, Weasley is," Pansy said in a shrilly tone. Their conversation was beginning to turn heads as Pansy slammed her fists immaturely on the table.

"Yea, he told me that Weasley refused to work with him. He also said you refused to work with Granger, so they ended up working together," Blaise said casually, as if none of it mattered that much.

By now, Pansy was seething. She glanced over at the Gryffindor table, but the Head Girl was no where to be found. With Draco's identical absence, she guessed they were in the library as Blaise had said they always were. Pushing hastily away from the table, she stood up and stuck her nose in the air as she made her way to the library.

* * *

Hermione and Draco had been in the library since class had ended that day. Books were scattered everywhere, and their cloaks hung neatly on the back of their chairs.

"Have you looked through this book yet?" Hermione asked Draco as she waved 'The Complete History of Magical Love Potions' in front of him. She tucked a stray bang behind her right ear, and ran a hand over her hair which was pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck.

"No, not yet," he replied, while flipping his own hair out of his face as it hung loosely around his shoulders. He had his sleeves rolled up, and his green and silver tie hung freely around his neck.

She plopped the book down in front of her and flipped opened the cover. Dust scattered everywhere, and she coughed loudly while waving her hand to clear the floating debris. Changing her mind, she shut the cover loudly and leaned back into the chair.

Draco looked up at her when he heard her slam the book shut.

"I'm beat," she said while rubbing her eyes.

"We should probably call it a night. If we hurry, we can make dinner," he said while gathering up his papers.

"No, I'll just go by the kitchens later," she said waving her hand nonchalantly. She yawned and let her hands fall to her neck where she attempted to give her self a neck massage.

"Would you like some assistance?"

Hermione nodded her head slowly as her hand dropped to her side. He pushed his chair back and in two steps, was behind her digging his hands into her tense muscles.

She sighed pleasantly, and closed her eyes. "I can't tell you the last time I had a neck massage," she admitted while laughing.

"I can't tell you the last time I've given one," he said. "To be honest, I don't think I ever have."

"You're doing brilliantly," she assured him.

Meanwhile, Pansy pushed the library doors opened with such force that it seemed to shake the castle walls. She strode into the library, and began searching around every corner. It was deserted, as most people were at dinner, and the eerie silence made her shiver.

Her frustration grew as she turned around every shelf to find nothing. It seemed like half an hour had passed and she hadn't come across anyone. To top things off, she was lost inside the maze of bookshelves, and even if she wanted to give up and leave, she had no idea which direction the doors were.

She sat down on a chair as she grunted in disappointment. That was when she heard it; A distinct female laugh.

Her stomach flip-flopped with jealousy as she stood quickly and followed the laugh as it seemed to grow louder. She quietly snuck around shelves, and eventually came to a small opened area with a table and several chairs. Along with those, were the Head Boy and Girl.

Pansy shrunk back into the darkness and ground her teeth together at what she saw. It seemed as though Draco was tickling her, and her laughter grew as he wouldn't relent. Pansy turned away in disgust as she saw the girl grab his tie and haul him down for a kiss.

The disgust soon turned to anger, and it took a great effort not to curse the filthy muggleborn into nothingness.

Pansy wanted nothing more than to leave, but again, she had no idea which way to go. After a few minutes, the two seemed to start gathering their things, and Pansy quietly followed them as they left the library.

She fled to the dungeons as soon as they were out of site and flung herself onto her bed. She wanted to cry, but screamed loudly into her pillow instead. How dare he betray every Slytherin by involving himself with a Gryffindor! How dare he kiss a Mudblood! He had been ignoring his house to mess about with Potter's sidekick! She screamed even louder as her head pounded with rage.

A few minutes passed, and she rolled over onto her back trying to relax her nerves. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the letter that Draco had received from his father a few days ago. She had planned on giving it back to him by using it as an excuse to get him into her room, but due to her fury, she jumped up off the bed and tore open the parchment violently.

Dear Draco,

Despite the fact that it is your fault our plan went awry, it is my place to inform you that your involvement and cooperation are still needed. Now that school has started again, you are the only one with access to the Mudblood. For our plan to work, we need inside assistance. I cannot go into detail now, but will discuss future plans with you at a later and safer time.

Others are weary of trusting you again, but Draco, this is your chance to repair their opinions towards you.

Do not disappoint me again.

L.M.

Pansy's jaw dropped opened in alarm. She re-read the letter over a few times, "Mudblood," she wondered aloud. "He can't mean..." she clenched her jaw as she stared at the word. He had to be referring to Granger. There were no other Mudbloods of importance. Her mind began to flash back to the library when she'd seen them kissing, and her anger flared again as she began to crumble the parchment unconsciously.

"Focus Pansy," she said to herself. She straightened out the letter and read it over again. "Your involvement and cooperation are still needed," she read out loud. "So he has done something involving the Mudblood before now...and they need his inside assistance? With what?"

If he was involved in some sort of plan with the girl, perhaps that was why he was spending so much time with her. The words, "Don't disappoint me again," told her that he had done something to upset his father. He had obviously done something wrong considering it was "his fault the plan went awry."

Pansy distinctly remembered that before the holiday's, Draco had been donning on about how he hated being ordered around by his father, even if those orders came directly from the Dark Lord. It had impressed her that he appeared fearless of you-know-who, but at the same time had irritated many Slytherins when word got around.

This further led her to believe that Draco was rebelling against his father.

After reading it one last time, she tucked it back in the envelope and hid it inside her trunk. The one question that refused to leave her mind was what was the plan about? She was itching to know every detail, especially if it concerned Granger. Her mind was racing because the letter was too vague to be sure of anything. She had to find out anything she could about this plan, but knew that she couldn't ask Draco.

She wondered out into the common room where Blaise was showing off his new invisibility cloak that he had received for Christmas. Younger years were gathering around him eagerly for a chance to try it on. She strolled by them and out of the common room so that she could think while wondering the dark corridors.

* * *

The following week went by quickly, and Pansy kept her eyes and ears open whenever Draco happened to be around. He barely spoke anymore at meal times, even though Pansy would attempt to create idle conversation. He simply was uninterested in anything she was saying, as his eyes seemed to be glued in her direction.

Now that she was aware of his interest and possible involvement with Granger, she seemed to be noticing every look they shared and every conversation they had. She became obsessed with following the two around, desperate for answers. Lucius' letter was imprinted in her mind as she now kept the crumbled parchment in her book bag.

It seemed as if the easy thing to do would be to ask Draco about it, but she knew that he would be furious that she hadn't given him the letter. Plus the fact that she had opened his mail and read a private message from his father. "No...definitely not a good idea to ask him about it," she said to herself as she walked through the foyer by the Great Hall one Saturday afternoon.

She heard two female voices approaching, and she ducked behind a corner when she recognized one of them to be the Head Girl.

"I know, we have made so much progress together. I'm so relieved to have a partner to work with in potions. Oh Ginny, you should see the insane project that Snape gave to us, it's a nightmare," Hermione said.

"Yet your real partner isn't doing anything?" Ginny asked. The girls had stopped in front of the Great Hall entrance. Hermione shook her head at Ginny's question, while Pansy frowned at the look Hermione was giving the younger girl. "And Snape doesn't mind you switching partners?"

"No, Draco talked to him and he said as long as it gets done he doesn't care. Of course, I'm sure he only said this because it was Draco who asked. I doubt he'd give Harry the same privilege," she said while playing with the end of her red and gold scarf.

Ginny was smiling and nodding politely while trying to conceal an enormous smile.

"What?" Hermione asked as she realized her friend's silly look.

"You do realize you just referred to Malfoy as Draco, don't you?"

Hermione opened her mouth while looking over Ginny's shoulder, then glanced back at her. "That is his name, Ginny," she replied in a condescending tone after a moment of speechlessness.

"What is going on with the two of you? You're practically inseparable. Not to mention that this project you have has been consuming your life lately," Ginny said. When Hermione only shrugged, she continued. "So, where is the King of Slytherin?"

Hermione looked at her wrist watch then replied, "He's at Quidditch practice right now."

Ginny scoffed, "You've memorized his schedule? Hermione, spill."

She smiled and walked a few steps away from Ginny. "There is really not that much to tell. I really enjoy his company--"

"His company? Hermione, please. I've seen you come into dinner countless times looking thoroughly kissed," she said while stepping closer to Hermione who had sat down on the large marble staircase.

Pansy leaned further around the corner so that she could still hear them. Her heart was pounding jealously at the mention of kissing Draco.

Hermione was trying to hide the smile on her face, "Is it that obvious?"

Ginny laughed and sat down beside her. "Well, to me it is. Harry and Ron are clueless; otherwise Ron probably would have punched Malfoy into next week. Have you been using your Pensieve for these escapades?"

"Not that it is any of your business, but no. I haven't. In fact...I haven't looked back on my memories in a while. I'm getting used to this new Draco, and I just want to forget about the plan, and his father, and the Death Eaters...."

Pansy gasped aloud while slamming her hand over her mouth as Hermione and Ginny peered in her direction. "So she knows about the plan...but...how?"

She turned away from the girls as she pulled out the letter to look at it again. "What?" she thought. She was now thoroughly confused....

"Ginny, Draco has been the perfect...distraction really. He has taken my mind off of...everything. And it was exactly what I needed. And now that time is moving on, we've started to discuss what happened over the break," she explained.

Hermione chewed on her bottom lip before continuing, "And...I think that I may really be developing...feelings for him," she admitted.

Ginny nodded silently. "May I just say that by the way he looks at you, he obviously has developed feelings for you as well," she said reassuringly. "Hermione, he is a completely different person, and I think you bring the best of him out for all of us to see. You've got to remember that the plan was his father's idea, we know now that he wanted nothing to do with it. He protected you from his father and from you-know-who. That clearly shows that he cares about you," Ginny said.

Hermione nodded her head smiling. "Thank you. I'm relieved to hear that someone agrees with me." They both stood up to head into the Great Hall and Pansy slumped slightly against the wall.

Now she knew that Draco definitely didn't want to follow in his fathers footsteps. He protected the Mudblood...surely that was not part of Lucius' plan. That must be how the plan went wrong; Draco took sides with Granger.

Well, obviously Lucius was unaware of Draco's new attitude and his repulsive affection for the Mudblood. "Not for long," she whispered to herself.

Draco may like Mudbloods now, but Pansy did not. She pushed off the wall to head off to her dormitory, her shallow breaths and the stomp of her shoes the only sound in the corridor.

All she had to do now was figure out what the plan was. The great part was that the Weaselette and Mudblood had just handed her that opportunity on a silver platter. The Head Girl had a Pensieve which meant that if Pansy could get to it, all her questions would be answered...she hoped.

Pansy had to know what their plan was. After that, she could put her plan into action.