Fate

By- Promise Me Please/ Decephsun

Summary- Fate works strangely; one moment could change your entire life. What if Hermione hadn't gone looking for Neville Longbottom's toad, and thus not entering Harry and Ron's compartment? What if she just sat down in any random compartment… how would her life change?

Genre- Adventure-Romance

Rated- T (13 )

Disclaimer- If I owned Harry Potter, I would be filthy rich, which I am… not. (Bottom line: "No, I do not own Harry Potter, you prat.")

Author's Notes- This is my first Harry Potter fic, so please don't flame. Or I'll be forced to write this super-long thingamabob about how stupid and disgusting flames are. (Hmm… stupid? Yes. Disgusting? I think not… XD). Also, if you ARE flaming, please keep it moderate enough, as in 'oh yeah… this fic isn't the best. You could write better' not 'eww!!11!!!1! this fic is so unpwnsome like dont ever write like again'.

Or maybe just review with CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, because yes, I know… I am 'not as good a write as J.K. Rowling'- if I were, why the hell do you think I'm typing stories on and not selling mass books (and getting rich and famous)? And no, it will not really help and be constructive criticism if you say 'this plot is overly riddled with clichés. It's stupid. Please get a beta and never submit anything like this again.'

Well, please enjoy the story and review!!! (I love reviews)

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- Chapter One -

Hogwarts

Hermione Granger was neither remarkable in beauty or remarkable in 'people skills', (as her sister, Millie, would put it) but she was remarkable in the way that her work was always well done, and the fact that she loved reading, and spent many long hours in the library, going through many old volumes of who-knows-what. She had a content home-life, with her parents, and her older sister, Millie, although sometimes she wondered if she was adopted- her sister was gorgeous, with her long, silky blonde hair and clear blue eyes, while she had wavy brown hair (which wasn't as flattering as it looked on her mother) and brown eyes.

Her friends at school- she had few, and cherished the few she had.

She loved spending her Saturday or Sunday in the library, reading whatever she could get her hands on- Hermione usually had finished her homework long before it was due, giving her lots of time to do whatever she wanted, which usually was curling up by her room's bay windows and reading.

One Saturday, however, was different. It started out the same, with Hermione waking up and opening her windows slightly, breathing in the aroma of her mother's flower gardens. Just like every Saturday, Millie groaned a little, muttering, "'Mione, don't open the window. I hate that cold breeze…" Of course, Hermione concluded, as always, Millie was still half-asleep and didn't realize what she was saying. So she left the window open.

Like every other Saturday, she knocked softly on her parents' door, and when no one answered, decided to tape a note on their door.

After that, she returned to the room she shared with Millie, and finding her somewhat awake, grinned at her. "Morning, Millie," Hermione said to her sister, making a little small talk.

"Hello, 'Mione," Millie replied, sticking to that childish nickname. She smiled, hand-combing through her tangled blond hair. "Hand me a comb, will you?" As Hermione fumbled through Millie's extensive, always-growing makeup bag, Millie yawned a little, and rubbed her eyes. "Actually, Hermione, you can go ahead to the library. I'll find it myself."

Hermione, like always, grinned and pecked her sister's cheek. She slipped on a random t-shirt and jeans, and headed out the door, to the library, not really bothering to ask how Millie knew where she was headed.

Because it was how every Saturday began.

-

As Hermione entered the library, she breathed in the musty smell of old books, and smiled to herself- a faint smile that seemed to say 'this is my little secret'. She greeted the librarian, a small Italian woman with beautiful dark hair: "Hello!"

"Ciao, signorinella," the woman said, smiling at her. "Same place again?" By that, she meant the back-section of the library, where Hermione always sat, reading hours after hours after hours. Hermione nodded at her statement, and started going to said section. She stopped in tracks when she realized someone else was there. (Guess that means no more singing in the back-section for you, Hermione! XD)

Hermione cocked her head a little, but heeded the person no more, as she grabbed a random book off the shelf and sat down at a table and started to read. 'The History of Magic and Such: By A.D.' Hermione snorted a little at the cheesy title, but decided to continue reading, anyway. 'Magic- what is it really? What are the different magical creatures in our world? To understand this, you must understand…' The introduction was getting a little bit boring, Hermione thought to herself, and placed the book back on the shelf, just as the other person did.

The other person, Hermione realized as she took a closer look at him, was a boy about her age, with dark hair, and bluish-purple eyes, and olive skin- perhaps he was Italian? He was sort of cute, anyway. She blinked a few times. What? Did she really just say that? Hermione shook her head a little, as if to rid herself of these thoughts and took another book off the shelf.

"Why are you doing that?" the boy asked, taking a book himself. Hermione looked up from reading the summary of the book on the back, and blinked. "What?"

"You know," he said, as he brushed away the long front hair from blocking his view, "that." When Hermione blinked again, he added, "Taking random books off the shelf, reading them, and taking another random book."

Hmm.

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- Hermione's POV -

"You know… that." He said, and I blinked a little. What on earth was he talking about? "Taking random books off the shelf reading them, and taking another random book."

'Well,' I felt like saying as my anger boiled up for some complete stranger, 'Who cares?' but I prided myself in being calm… most of the time, anyway. So I just ignored him and continued reading the book that I was holding. "Seriously," the boy pressed, "Isn't sort of a waste of time?" I slammed the book on the table.

"Look, you," I said, gritting my teeth to control my anger, "I don't even know your name, you don't know mine and therefore, you have no right to just ask stupid questions like that."

"Blaise. Blaise Zabini."

He caught me off-guard. What the hell was he talking about? "What?" I asked dumbly as he smiled- or perhaps smirked- a little. "Blaise," he repeated, condescendingly, as if he was talking to a little child, "that's my name."

"And who said I don't know your name? It's Hermione Granger, isn't it?"

I was so dumbfounded that he knew my name that I didn't even think of calling him a stalker; I just sat there, staring off into the distance.

Which was somewhat stupid. So after snapping to my senses, I decided to apologize to the boy, Blaise, when I realized he was gone. Not like 'oh, I'm going to leave gone'. Because if he left, I would be able to hear it. It was more like the 'disappear into thin air' gone. But that would be magic.

And magic isn't real… right?

-

- Third Person POV -

"Hermione… letter for you," Millie said to Hermione, as she noticed her walk into the room they shared. "It says 'Hogwarts' on it. You don't reckon it's a prank, do you?"

Hermione trudged over to her bed, lay down and sighed. "Read it to me, would you?" Millie tore the letter open. "'Dear Hermione Granger, you have been accepted to Hogwarts School for Wizardry. Please buy the following things…' and then there's this long list of things. It's a prank, right? Anyway, who's Blaise Zabini?"

At the mention of the name, Hermione sat straight up. "What? Where'd you hear that?" Her eyes were widened, as she stared at her sister.

"Mom said he called, looking for you," Millie said, her voice turning honeyed as she added: "Who is he, your boyfriiiieeeennnd?" Hermione smiled at her sister's childish antics, and replied that no, he was not, in fact, her boyfriend. But left it at that. Perhaps she had left something at the library and he had called to tell her? But anyway, she could go back tomorrow.

Hermione took the letter from 'Hogwarts', and read it over, confirming it was probably a prank, but kept it… just in case.

-

In the middle of dinner, the doorbell rang. Hermione, half-expecting it to be Blaise, told her parents that she'd answer the door.

"All right, dear," her mother said, as she took another bit of potato.

The person at the door turned out to be an old man with a long, snow-white beard. "Hello, young lady. I am Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts. I presume that you got the letter today, yes?" Dumbledore raised a single brow as he looked questioningly at her.

"Y-yes," she said, "when does school start?"

Dumbledore had a small smile on his face. "Look in the letter."

And then he was gone. Poof. Just like that. Hermione banged her head on a nearby wall. Her life defied all logic.

-

- Weeks Later… -

At the train station, Hermione looked around for a 'Platform 9 ¾", unsuccessfully, for she couldn't find it. She glanced at her watch. "Omigod," she muttered to herself, "the train's leaving soon!" Hermione glanced around at the signs, frantically, scurrying around, asking people (who replied with 'Platform 9 ¾? What sort of prank is that, missy?')… When she spotted Blaise- the boy she had met in the library.

"Blaise!" she called out, glad to see someone she knew. Blaise turned around, his face lighting up a little to see her. "Do you know where Platform 9 ¾ is? I'm beginning to think it's a joke."

Blaise grinned a little at her. "So you're going to Hogwarts, too?" Hermione nodded, a little impatient. "Okay, just go through Platform 9 and Platform 10." Hermione cocked her head a little: "Wait… isn't that stone?"

Blaise ignored the question (or perhaps he hadn't hear it) and smiled. "See you at Hogwarts!" He waved at her as he ran away, and disappeared into the crowd.

Hermione stared at all the stone.

"Well… here goes."

-

- On the train… -

Hermione wandered around the train, opening random compartments, only to find them either… a) full of people, b) having creepy-looking people in them, or c) full of giggling girls. She banged her head on the wall, and the 'wall', which turned out not to be a wall at all, but a door, creaked open.

Was that sign, or something? She thought to herself, as she trudged in the compartment, sitting down and sighing, unaware of the two pairs of eyes watching her.

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A/N- Please review!!! Yesh, this is the end of the chapter. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

More A/Ns (you know you love them XD): This is my other account's fic, but I have decided to move it to this account. )