Disclaimer: I do not own HP in any way, shape, or form.

Author's Note: All reflections take place after the end of Half-Blood Prince.

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I knew the Malfoy name from my father, who is an old friend of Lucius’s. I was told, on my first day at Hogwarts, to become good friends with the Malfoy heir, as it would prove profitable to the Nott name. From my first meeting with Draco Malfoy, I knew that would prove impossible.

Draco was a narcissistic, pompous, unrefined ass, and those are the nicest things I think of him. He seemed to have on idea of the real world except that he was king. People were not scared of him, per se, but of the power his name held.

It is rather hared to believe Draco is the end product of pureblood ancestry dating back centuries from the two most noble wizarding families in Britain, but I suppose that is what you get from inbreeding.

I made a point of not becoming friendly with him, but gave him respect and remained on good terms with Draco. I still didn’t like him, but he was the Slytherin king in our year after all; I could not afford to get on his bad side.

I believe Draco was aware that I didn’t care for him in the least bit, but didn’t let that bother him because he did not care for me either. Besides, the two of us had reputations to uphold. We were not friends, but mere acquaintances using one another for the other’s benefit.

We maintained this relationship up until the end of our fifth year, when our fathers were captured in the Ministry raid and sent to Azkaban. Draco cornered me in the library soon after this incident.

I was surprised to see him without his thugs Crabbe and Goyle. I cleared a space for him to sit down. He started speaking immediately, deciding not to mince words.

“Look Theo,” he said, deigning to use my first name, “I know you don’t like me, and I don’t like you. However, I think it’s about time that we call a truce as we’re both in the same boat.”

He cut off, his eyes flickering to something behind me. I turned to see Potter and his friends entering the library. I’ve never really had anything against Potter until then; he was the reason my father was incarcerated.

I sneered at him and Potter, looking strangely put out, kept moving on, ignoring our glares. I turned back to Draco as soon as Potter was out of sight.

“As you see, we share a common enemy,” said Draco, continuing as if there was no interruption. “Don’t you believe that it is worth our family’s reputation to become friends?”

At that point in time, I would’ve desired nothing more than to make Potter pay for what he had done. Working with Draco may have been the easiest and most profitable way to do so. However something within me protested against this.

“Yes, it would,” I said slowly, “but I believe Potter will get what is coming to him, eventually, and I have no desire to align myself with you.”

Draco must have been certain that I was going to join with him, because shock was etched into every feature of his face. He managed to regain his composure and continue calmly.

“I thought you would understand Nott,” he said coldly, reverting back to my surname, “I believed that you, of all people, would understand, but I guess I was wrong.”

Before I had a chance to utter another word, Draco was gone.

Since then, we never spoke or even acknowledged each other’s presence. Our unspoken pact to respect each other was broken and the house was divided. The Nott name is prestigious, but not as much as the Malfoy’s.

Without Draco’s protection, I lost many friends and became somewhat of a loner and got involved in many fights.

Now, with Draco gone, possibly forever from my life, I wonder if he knew what was coming and was possibly seeking some sort of comfort from me. Perhaps he wanted my help; those two goons of his were certainly no use.

Do I regret my decision in the least? A bit, on occasion. If I had become his friend, I could’ve helped him, and he would not be in his current situation. However, as I said before, I knew from day one, back when Draco greeted me on the train, that we could never be friends.

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Next time: What are Daphne Greengrass's thoughts on Draco Malfoy?