Draco knew it was wrong, but it was the only way he could get Hermione's expressive brown eyes focused on him. That's all he wanted. To be the center of her universe, because Merlin knew that the bushy-haired girl was all he thought about. Just that morning, Draco had almost tripped in the Great Hall daydreaming about those intelligent eyes, imagining them looking at him with admiration. He often found himself mesmerized by her flipping through books during class, wishing that she would focus on him as intently as she did her studies.

Enough was more than enough. During Potions the week before, Draco had accidentally spilled his cauldron when he was supposed to be brewing a potion because he was distracted by Hermione's soft laughter. Last month, he had gotten detention after accidentally crashing into a suit of armor while trying to impress her with his Quidditch skills. Not to mention the countless times he had embarrassed himself in front of her, stumbling over his words or making a fool of himself just to get her attention.

Looking back, Draco was unsure when his obsession with Hermione started. Maybe he was obsessed from the beginning and only fooled himself into believing that he wanted someone else. She was everything he wasn't - smart, brave, and fiercely loyal to her friends. She was always surrounded by them, igniting Draco's jealousy because she was always looking at them. With hindsight, maybe what had annoyed Draco was that Hermione's smiles were always for them, never for him. No, whenever she looked at Draco, it was with annoyance, with a scowl or an outright dismissal. When Hermione was alone, she tried to hide behind her books and become as focused as possible, but didn't she understand? Draco always noticed her, he couldn't take his eyes off her.

Draco was a complex person, a Slytherin with a troubled past, but he still knew it was wrong. But as he bullied Hermione, he couldn't help feeling a twisted sense of satisfaction knowing that he had her attention. Her eyes, once filled with warmth, were now filled with fear and hurt, but they were focused on him. Draco smirked. Hermione definitely wasn't thinking about anyone else now.