How To Be Good

I have a confession to make. Throughout my life I always viewed myself a certain way. Intelligent, kind, understanding, a little bossy at times, and always looking for the good in people. It was in the last one that I failed. I didn't judge people; At least I didn't think so. All it took was one chance meeting and a peanut butter and jam sandwich for me to realize my mistake. I know that sounds farfetched and maybe even a bit clichéd.

That doesn't make it any less true.

Like I said, it began with a chance meeting. The night of this meeting I finished studying for my Arithmancy exam and it was just after midnight. I had a sudden craving for a PBJ sandwich like my mom used to make for me when I was younger. Smooth, sticky peanut butter and tangy sweet strawberry jam. Without stopping to think about it, I had grabbed my robe and was out the door. Nothing spectacular there.

Things didn't turn odd until I was in the kitchens.

I had shooed the house elves away, wanting to make the sandwich myself and let me tell you, they didn't like that one bit! I had just finished slicing the bread when the door opened. I couldn't believe my bad luck when who else but Draco Malfoy walked in. I had hated that boy ever since I started school at Hogwarts five and a half years ago. He had never been anything but rude and arrogant and as far as I was concerned, he was an evil git.

As you can imagine, neither of us reacted favorably to the other's presence. There was the usual bickering but something was different. He didn't seem quite as evil and off-putting as usual. Once or twice it looked as though he was trying not to smile and I caught him staring at me with an expression I had never seen him wear before. It looked so foreign on him that I couldn't even place it.

Then he insulted my choice of food. Typical Malfoy behavior.

I couldn't believe he had never had a PBJ sandwich before. It seemed like something so basic and yet so vital to me.

Then he asked me to call him Draco. Not typical Malfoy behavior.

It was at that point that I decided to offer him a sandwich. I thought he deserved to try it for himself and see if he liked it or not. For the first time I found myself wondering if he was ever allowed to make those types of choices. I had expected him to laugh at me or to throw the sandwich back in my face. Instead he looked surprised and he actually took it from me!

When he told me he liked it, I couldn't help but tease him. I had said, 'Maybe not everything Muggle-born is so bad after all, huh Draco'. The look on his face was priceless.

I didn't sleep well that night.

I kept thinking about him. In some ways he was his regular, nasty self but in some ways he wasn't. It was like he had taken down a wall and allowed me to see beyond it. It didn't matter if it had been intentional or not; It told me all I needed to know. There was more to Draco Malfoy than the evil git I always assumed he was. I had placed him in a category and even worse than that, I didn't even try to see the good in him. I had written him off, probably like people had been doing to him all his life. I hated being wrong but I had no one to blame except myself.

Things got more complicated after that.

Draco had transformed from one-dimensional to three dimensional in my mind. It was because of this that I began to have a much harder time dealing with his cruelty. I was convinced there was warmth under that frigid layer of ice that covered his heart. It angered me to no end that he was not letting it shine through. I used to tell myself that he was a wicked prat that wasn't worth getting upset over. But I had seen something in him and I knew he could be more than that.

Needless to say, I didn't react well to his venomous insults. However, I will be the first to admit it was pretty funny seeing his shocked face dripping pumpkin juice. And his reactions only fueled my belief that something good was hidden in him. He could have done something really mean to get back at me for embarrassing him in front of the whole school. He could have. But he didn't.

I knew there was something pure within him but why he was acting so terrible after letting me get a glimpse of it was beyond me. That is, until he cornered me in that classroom. Then it all clicked.

Draco Malfoy liked me, Hermione Granger, a Mudblood!

What made it really surreal was how clueless he was about it. Didn't he have any experience with love and other positive emotions? Surely his mother at least loved him. She was always sending him those care packages after all. How could he think there was a spell on him otherwise?

When he kissed me everything left my mind except one thought:

I was going to be the one to melt the ice over his heart and soul.

And I would do it; I just didn't realize how hard it would be.

My sixth and seventh years at Hogwarts were spent growing and learning beyond any academic sense. They were years of truth, hardship and passion. It was during that time that Draco and I discovered each other. And upon finding each other, we would learn what it truly meant to be good.