Disclaimer: I own nothing.

AN: I just want to make although this fic starts Hermione 3rd year at Hogwarts nothing will happen between her and Narcissa until she is 17.

You gave me just one look, And I swear, that's all it took, And I was hooked, hooked on you - Triumph.

Chapter 1: Beware of a Malfoy bearing gifts.

It is only raining lightly, but it gives Hermione the perfect excuse to drag her parents into Flourish and Blotts. They usually like going there last as it is always extremely difficult to pull her away from the books once she's near them.

Her book addiction isn't her fault.

Being an only child, was lonely, and her parents worked a lot not that she minded now, but when she was younger, and before she went to Hogwarts the only companionship, she had was her books.

The many different babysitters over the years were friendly enough, but they didn't seem to understand her in the slightest. So more often than not she would read in her room each book providing her comfort.

She had friends now, but still books were her treasured companions who never judged her or thought she was an annoying know-it-all.

She breathes in deeply the many different scents coming from the books around her. Many people don't know that each book has a distinctive smell, maybe because they weren't as much as a bookworm as her.

Hermione felt happy that she had gently rejected the offer of going shopping for school things with the Weasleys instead choosing to meet them at the Leaky Cauldron later that day. Ron would never appreciate how great book shopping was instead seeing it as a chore.

She feels slightly guilty when she sees that her parents look like they feel out of place here and a little voice in the back of her head whispers "The reason they are out of place is because they are only Muggles,". She isn't ashamed of her Muggle heritage; she really isn't, but there were times when she thought things would be easier for her if she were a Pureblood or a Half blood.

Hermione had never voiced this out loud to anyone as she thought that it was disloyal to her parents. It wasn't like they could help being Muggles or having a magical child, and they had been nothing but supportive of Hermione since they found out she was a witch. Even if half the time they didn't understand what she was talking about.

While she searches for her school books and some books for extra reading, it occurs to her that it must be difficult for them having a child whom they didn't fully understand.

Hermione can tell the difference between the children in the shops whose parents are magical and those who are Muggle. It's not the different clothing, or that she knows some of the kids from Hogwarts its the fact their parents look uncomfortable.

She sees Draco Malfoy and can't stop her face from frowning that is until she sees him being told off by a blonde woman who she assumes is his mother. She can tell from the woman's face that it's being done affectionately, and that she isn't really annoyed or cross.

She's beautiful and from what Hermione can read from the way she stands Draco's mother is aware it.

The books were heavy in her arms, and she had been scanning the shop for her parents when she collided into Mrs. Malfoy. She begins apologizing immediately and for reasons, she can't explain her words come out as an incoherent mumble.

"I must have read Draco's list for the books he needed for Hogwarts a dozen times and at least half of these books weren't on there Miss Granger," Narcissa says, holding one of Hermione's books in her hands.

Hermione was going to ask how she knew who she was but Narcissa answered that question before she had the chance to ask.

"If you are going to stare at people you should make sure they don't see you and then ask their son who you are."

"I wasn't staring," Hermione mutters, and she's not sure why it feels like that is the best thing she can come up with to say.

Narcissa smirks and she can't help noting how similar her smirk to Draco's is but when he does it Hermione wants to slap him and when she does it makes Hermione's stomach do a strange sort somersault.

"Really because from where I was standing you were staring for a good five minutes," Narcissa says, her tone is teasing almost like they had been good friends for a while.

Hermione is confused by the woman's attitude towards her after all it was her husband's fault she'd ended up petrified, and her son had called her a Mudblood.

Hermione didn't know that she had been staring at them that long and can feel her face going bright red. Something that rarely happened to her.

Hermione catches sight of her parents walking over and a surge of panic floods through her the funny thing is she isn't sure why.

Narcissa is polite and courteous to her parents introducing herself, smiling and even calling herself the mother of a friend of Hermione's.

But the blonde haired, blue-eyed woman's voice no longer has a teasing tone; its cold, and it sends shivers down Hermione's spine. The know-it-all, and the Gryffindor wanted to point out that as Narcissa very well knew Hermione was not, nor would she ever be a friend of Draco Malfoy.

As she hands Hermione, her last book, there is a hatred and coldness in her eyes that left Hermione, feeling like she's been punched in the stomach so hard that she wants to fall on her knees.

Hermione wasn't hungry, but under the watchful eye of Molly Weasley, not eating wasn't an option. So you she kept nibbling at bits of food or making sure what was on her fork was as minimum as possible.

She had hoped that if Ron's mouth was full with enough food that he'd stop going on about Egypt.

The first few times he'd told she'd listened happily, but it was now the sixteenth time, and it was beginning to get on her nerves. It was either Fred or George that threatened to push his face into the pile of mashed potatoes on his plate if didn't give it a rest.

She understood that Mr. Weasley winning seven hundred galleons and going on holiday/seeing his brother was something that Ron was happy about.

She was happy about her holiday in France, but not once had her friend asked her about it.

Hermione couldn't stop her eyes being drawn to the wanted poster for Sirius Black a subject that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley seemed keen on to avoid.

"Are you finished dear?," Mrs. Weasley asks and Hermione gets the feeling she calls everyone dear probably because it was a lot easier than remembering every one of her children's friends' names.

"Yes Mrs. Weasley," Hermione says, noting the frown on the older woman's face at how little had been eaten but still she didn't say anything. The same, however could not be said for Ron, who decided to blurt out rather too loudly to everyone in the Leaky Cauldron "But you've hardly eaten anything," like it was the most scandalous thing ever.

Hermione rolled her eyes and bit down on her tongue, there was no point in trying to explain to Ron that not everyone tried to eat for England like him. Sometimes she thought that his insides were made entirely of food, all his vital organs made of chocolate.

Hermione decided to smile through gritted teeth and say, "I'm actually feeling really sleepy is okay if I go my room?,".

"Yes, dear, if you need anything you know where mine and Arthur's room just knock on the door, and I will be there in less than a minute,".

Hermione had tried reading several times but couldn't concrete her mind wandering to Mrs. Malfoy. Her brain wouldn't let the image of the woman go, and it was beginning to grate on her nerves.

Out of everyone in the world, why did it have to be Draco's mother that her brain was fixated on.

Now she'd given up on reading and lay on her bed in the barely lit room. She knows at thirteen almost fourteen, she should be able to sleep in the dark, but she can't.

Even at Hogwarts, she can't and at first she thought that her dorm mates would tell everyone at Hogwarts about her fear of the dark, especially since two of them were the biggest gossips at Hogwarts but so far no one had uttered a word about it.

Her mind still wouldn't let go off the subject of Mrs. Malfoy though. So far, she'd wondered what the older witch's favorite subject had been at Hogwarts when she was there.

Whether she slept on her stomach, side or back and why out of everyone in the wizarding world would she marry Lucius Malfoy.

Just when thought she was able to drift off to sleep; there was a tapping on her window, half stumbling over to the window and letting the owl in so it could drop a parcel on her bed before biting and hooting at her then flying out the window.

It was a book, a very old book but still in good condition the gold letters one thousand useful potions' by Corvus Black almost sparkled in the poor light.

There was a note that read:

Dear Miss Granger, sorry to send this at such an hour, but I was in the library and found this book an, I thought you would enjoy it.

Sincerely Narcissa Malfoy.

Hermione knows she should take the book straight to Mrs. and Mr. Weasley given everything that had happened after Lucius Malfoy gave Ginny, Tom Riddle's diary.

But every time she tries to make herself, she can't it was like her body was refusing to obey her brain.