Cinderella

Chapter One

A/N: So, I'm having trouble with my Teddy/Victoire story, Tumble Through Time, so I thought I'd venture back in to Dramione territory until I get some inspiration... Or I don't. Haha. This will be AU/Non-magical and my take on a Harry Potter/Cinderella story of sorts. Read, review, follow, favorite. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! :)

Hermione Granger was nothing special. Her hair was too big, until her parents begrudgingly agreed to braces at the age of 12, her teeth were a bit too messed up, and she was too smart for her own good. She wasn't ugly, by any means, but she more or less faded into the background unless she was answering question after question in class. Her father had been well off, a highly esteemed dentist, while her mother had passed on when Hermione was only 13. Her father remarried soon after. Her father had passed away barely a year after his remarriage, leaving Hermione in the care of her stepmother. And if the new Mrs. Granger (nee Greengrass) was anything to go by, her stepsisters Daphne and Astoria would be just as unpleasant when they grew up. She did have friends, though only two of them; Harry Potter, the school's golden boy, and Ronald Weasley, a boy about as special as Hermione was. How the three of them became friends was a mystery to the rest of the school.

Harry Potter was, to say the least, the most popular boy in school. His parents had passed in an extremely mysterious, and very well publicized, accident when Harry was only one. he had been left with his horrible aunt and uncle, and until he started at Hogwarts Prep, he thought that there was nothing special about him. But he soon learned that everyone knew his name, simply because of the suspicious nature of his parent's deaths. Harry was the boy who could do no wrong. "The Chosen One", they called him, because of how quickly he took to the game of football, soon becoming the star player in only his first year.

Ronald Weasley was really nothing special, or at least he thought so. He was the youngest boy out of seven, only having a sister younger than him. His father was obsessed with figuring out how things worked and his mother, what with three practically perfect brothers and two that were always getting into trouble, and with his younger sister being the baby, sometimes let Ron get lost in the bustle of every day life. But while he faded into his family, he definitely stuck out in the crowd. He was tall and lanky, even for 16, and had the same flaming red hair that was shared throughout his siblings. He wasn't particularly good at schoolwork and he was subpar at football. But he had his two best friends and to him, that was all that mattered. Especially Hermione. He had harbored a crush on her since the day they had met. Their first day of school, to be precise, but never acted on it.

Hogwarts Prep was located in the middle of Scotland. It was a boarding school, meaning all the students lived there except for holidays. It was separated into four houses; Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw, with each house having their own special attributes. Upon recieving their acceptance letters, students had to fill out a short test, of sorts, to see where they would end up. Meals were taken together, each house having their own designated table, and no one dared to sit anywhere else. The houses of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff were friendly enough, but no one dared talkk to the Slytherin's unless it was absolutely necessary. Mostly because of one student and his followers.

Draco Malfoy was the school's bad boy. But not 'bad boy', like most people would think. He didn't have tattoos, save for one, which all of his friends seemed to want, but only the most elite of his friends seemed to attain. He didn't drink or do drugs. He smoked cigarettes, though. And his taste in clothes leaned more towards impecable, tailor-made, special ordered suits, rather than leather jackets and grungy clothes. He was rich and he loved to show it off. He belittled anyone of even a slightly lower class than he. Hermione seemed to be his favorite to tease, though. And to make matters worse for her, Hermione's stepsisters were part of his group of cronies, and they loved to gossip about her.

Their sixth year hadn't even been back in session a week, and Draco was already on the warpath for Hermione. On their first class of the morning, History, their teacher, Professor Binns, an incredibly old and boring man, asked a question about World War 2 and Hermione's hand immediately shot into the air.

Draco let out a hiss of laughter. "Look at the little Mudblood." He said, using a slang word him and his friends had concocted for the lesser-class of students. "Her hand, always at the ready. Wonder what else that hand is good for." His cronies becan to chuckle and Hermione lowered her hand, her cheeks burning.

Harry swiveled around in his seat. "I don't understand why you have to be so cruel, Malfoy. She only knew the answer, unlike you, I'm assuming."

"Oh, I knew the answer, Potter." Malfoy spat. "But unlike her, I choose to show my intelligence through my work, not shout it out for the world to hear. I have some sort of self-respect."

"You're just mad that she's smarter than you." Ron sniggered.

"And now we hear from the Weasel. Better late than never, I guess." Draco just looked bored. "Wonder when she's going to stand up for herself instead of having the two of you do it."

It was Hermione's turn to stare at Draco. "I know perfectly well how to stand up for myself, Malfoy. Just because I have friends that are willing to stand up for me, doesn't mean I don't know how."

"Oh, shut up. I don't give a bloody fuck what you actally have to say. Turn around and answer some more of the nice professor's questions like a good teachers pet."

Hermione turned back around, her face red with anger. "It'll be alright, 'Mione." Ron said, softly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Please, don't call me that, Ronald. It's annoying." Hermione snapped.

"Just because you're angry at him, doesn't mean you have to take it out on me." Ron huffed moving back to his seat.

Hermione heard a laugh come from behind her. She barely turned her head until she was able to see who it had come from. As soon as she looked, she wished she hadn't. Draco Malfoy was staring straight at her, with a wicked grin on his face.

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