Chapter One: What's New
Hermione Granger was awakened by the warm summer sun beating down on her face. Summer. The time of the year that kids were able to enjoy themselves, laugh, and have fun. Muggle families went to the beach and wizard families Apparated to different countries every day.
What did Hermione Granger do? She definitely wasn't about to be caught dead at a beach that was covered in Muggles! The word made her gag. Muggles were beneath her of course. She had already seen most of the world with her mother and father, and traveling bored her now. This summer day Hermione wasn't at the beach or a different country. No, she was merely having a relaxing summer at the Granger Mansion.
Sitting up in bed, Hermione let out a yawn. She walked over to her closet and grabbed her favorite robe, which of course was in Slytherin green.
She wrapped it around herself and tied it at the waist. Stepping out of her room she was almost ran over by a short boy with a mess of chocolate brown hair.
"Julius!" Hermione shrieked. "You know better than to run in the house!"
"Geez, no need to sound like Mum," Julius said with the roll of his eyes, which earned him a sneer from Hermione, "But anyways, I got my Hogwarts acceptance letter today!" He exclaimed in excitement.
"Congratulations, little brother, but never say Geez again. It's a filthy American Muggle word," Hermione sneered in disgust as she patted her little brother on the head, "now the pressure is on you to keep the family tradition of Slytherin."
Julius just rolled his eyes, "well of course I'll be in Slytherin. There's no doubt about that," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Eh, you're right," Hermione shrugged, "you're the most rotten little boy I know." She messed up his hair with his hand and started to walk to the bathroom.
"I'm not a little boy!" Julius yelled after her. Hermione just waved her hand at him and kept walking. She was excited to have her little brother in Hogwarts with her, but of course she wouldn't admit that to him, or anyone else for that matter. She knew Julius would fall in love with Hogwarts though, just as everyone else did as soon as they walked through the doors of the castle. Hermione remembered the first day she walked into Hogwarts, the day she so proudly got sorted into Slytherin.
The stone doors that led to the Great Hall opened gracefully, and through those doors sat four rows of tables. Each table was filled with students with robes of four different colors: Green, Yellow, Blue, and Red. Hermione felt as though each one of those students were staring directly at her.
Refusing to show any side of nervousness Hermione strutted towards the Sorting Hat, leading the rest of the first years with her best friend, Daphne Greengrass, by her side. Hermione and Daphne grew up together, their families being close friends.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw a group of boys that seemed to be walking just beside them. They seemed like they would be a group of trouble makers. One of the boys with striking blonde hair glanced Hermione's way and gave her a friendly smile, and in return she wrinkled her nose in disgust.
One by one each student was called for the Sorting Hat to designate them into a house that they would be a part of for the next seven years.
"Hermione Granger."
Finally, her name was called. She strutted towards the Sorting Hat with confidence, her brown hair bouncing with every step she took. The Sorting Hat had barely touched her hair before shouting what she already knew, and she smirked with delight, "SLYTHERIN!"
Hermione bounced off of the stool and strutted to the Slytherin table, where she was welcomed with pride. The excitement died down and Hermione watched with boredom as the rest of the first years were sorted into their houses.
She wasn't surprised when each of the trouble making boys got sorted into Gryffindor, and she noticed the blonde one kept smiling like an idiot. He seemed to think everything around him was just unreal. He was a Mudblood for sure. It disgusted Hermione to think that he smiled at her.
Hermione smiled at the memory and walked into the bathroom. Before stepping into the shower she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Same bushy brown hair, tanned skin, and cold chocolate brown eyes that could kill with one look. Hermione was truly a pureblood Slytherin.
"Drakie!" a playful voice yelled through a door, "it's time to wakey wakey!"
"Oh shove off, Potter!" Draco moaned as he covered his head with a pillow, "can't a bloke sleep late in the summer, especially in my own house!"
Harry slowly opened the door to Draco's room, "that's one of the reasons you need to wake up, mate. You're mum is wanting us for breakfast, and honestly she scares me," he admitted with a shrug, "Are you really going to make me eat breakfast with her alone?"
"Oh, don't be a baby," Draco groaned as he sat up in bed. "Fine, fine let me get dressed and I'll meet you down there in a minute."
"You want me to go back down there?" Harry moaned, "Alone with your mother?"
"Oh quit your whining," Draco rolled his eyes, "where's Father?"
"Narcissa said he had to go to the States on business," Harry replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
Draco raised his eyebrows at Harry, "So you're calling my mother by her first name now?"
"She told me to," Harry mumbled awkwardly, "alright, fine I'll tell her you'll be down in a few minutes."
Smiling, Draco rolled his eyes and mumbled to himself, "I'm best friends with an idiot."
Draco threw his covers from his lap, which was of course Gryffindor red, and walked down the hall towards the bathroom in nothing but boxers. Draco Malfoy may be an ordinary Muggle-Born, but his Quidditch skills showed in his body. He knew this, of course, and the look he got from his maid merely confirmed it.
He gave the lady an arrogant smirk and walked into the bathroom for a quick shower. It was summer, and what was he going to do this summer day? He definitely wasn't expecting a family vacation. Draco's father, Lucius, was always on business trips and never had time for family. The only good thing about his father being in the Government was he brought a lot of money home. His mother, Narcissa, on the other hand always had free time on her hands. She merely decided to spend this time spending the money his father brought in.
Stepping out of the shower Draco smiled, he knew exactly what he wanted to do today. After breakfast he would talk to Harry about getting the whole gang together to go to his house and having a game of Quidditch. After all, the gang hadn't been together all summer.
The gang consisted of Harry, Draco, Ron, and Neville. They had been best friends since day one at Hogwarts.
Draco froze, the two things in front of him was his trolley and a brick wall. Was all of this really just a sick joke? Of course, he wasn't a wizard and there was no such thing as Platform 9 ¾. He was standing right in the middle of Platforms 9 and 10, and nothing was there except a brick wall. Just as Draco was about to turn to his butler to say he was going home after all, he noticed a boy walking towards him with an owl in his trolley. He remembered the letter he got had said that you could bring an owl to Hogwarts, and people just didn't walk around a train station with pet owls.
"Hey are you just going to stand there all day or are you going to get on to the platform?" The boy with messy black hair asked.
"Excuse me?" Draco asked in confusion.
"The platform you're standing in front of, you are going to Hogwarts are you not?"
"Oh, yes!" Draco exclaimed with relief, "Sorry, I only found out about Hogwarts about a month ago."
"Ah, Muggle-Born," the boy nodded with a smile, "Sorry, I just assumed you knew how to get on to the platform. My name is Harry. Harry Potter."
"Er Draco Malfoy," just as the boys shook hands a man with a mess of light brown curly hair approached them.
"Not nervous, are you Harry?" the man asked.
"Not at all, Sirius," Harry smiled up at the man, "this is Draco, I was just explaining where Platform 9 ¾ is."
"Oh, well just walk through that wall of course." Sirius pointed to the wall that Draco's trolley was in front of, "It's quite simple really. And don't worry about being seen, Muggles never notice anything."
"Muggle?" Draco tilted his head with confusion.
"I'll explain when we get on the train," Harry smiled.
Draco smiled; he had made his first friend! He was dreadfully worried that he would be an outcast to the wizarding world. He told his butler to go on. He knew he would be fine from here.
Harry went through the barrier first, followed by Draco, and then Sirius. Draco stood awkwardly as Harry said his goodbyes to Sirius, who he found out was actually Harry's godfather, and then they boarded the train together.
It took Draco only a moment to realize the older kids sat towards the back of the train, and the younger ones sat towards the front. It reminded Draco of a school bus, but with compartments. Harry and Draco were lucky enough to find an empty compartment, but it didn't stay empty very long.
Draco noticed two boys, a redhead and a chubby brunette, walking up and down the train looking for a compartment. Harry must of noticed too because about the third time the boys walked past their compartment, he stood up and walked towards them, "Hey, you two, we have seats available if you like."
Both boys sighed in relief and followed Harry back in to the compartment. The redheaded boy sat next to Draco, and the brunette sat beside Harry. Draco waved to the boys, "hello, I'm Draco Malfoy."
"Ron Weasley," the redhead replied with a polite nod.
"Neville Longbottom," the chubby brunette squeaked nervously.
Harry smiled at both of them, "I'm Harry Potter."
Both boys gasped. "Are you really?" Ron asked.
"What's so special about being Harry Potter?" Draco looked at all of them in confusion.
"Are you serious? You don't know who Harry Potter is?" Neville asked in disbelief. Draco shook his head and looked over at Harry, who seemed to be trying to hide his face.
"Oh, sorry," both boys mumbled, "he can explain it to you if he wants."
Draco was so confused and he felt so stupid. He was glad the train ride was long because the boys had a lot to tell him. After it was over he felt as if his brain was going to explain with all of the new knowledge he had gained in just that train ride.
Draco smiled at the memory and proceeded to walk down the steps of the mansion. He had always called it the mansion, never home. He felt more at home when he was at Harry's, and of course Hogwarts.
It had only been a few years since Draco found out he was a wizard, and he would always be Muggle-Born, but he wasn't the same naïve eleven-year-old he was before. No, now he was a strong, brave, and mischievous Gryffindor.
