Disclaimer: I do not own anything, the characters and the Harry Potter universe belongs to J. K. Rowling.
A/N: I wrote this as a sort of a background to the other fanfic I'm writing, Blood Curse. A way I imagined Draco and Hermione could become friends, but then his father steps in and forbids him from being her friend. I wanted them to have a history, so here it is.
Also, this was before she becomes friends with Harry and Ron. I mean canonically they have conversations and scenes together but they actually become friends after the troll incident.
I'm trying to keep this as canon compliant as possible, but for the story to work some things have to change. So if you find any mistakes or loopholes, let me know. :)
Also, Ron's line in the story is canon, taken from the first book.
—
It had all felt like stepping into a dream to Hermione Granger, ever since she had stepped through the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. People were bustling about platform 9 ¾, witches and wizards in robes, kids carrying school trunks and peculiar pets, kids her age who would be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the first time looking around in amazement.
After a lot of fussing by her parents, she boarded the train, eager to make new friends in this magical new world.
Now three days later, Hermione sat in the library practicing simple first year spells. She had sought out the library as soon as she could in a free class on her first day, and she'd been finding time to come back every day since. She loved learning new things and she knew everything her course books provided already, so the library was her next solution.
She was practicing the unlocking and locking charm on a tiny box with a lock in front of her when a pale boy came running into the library, his hair was a white blond color and there was a panicked expression on his face. He retreated far back into a corner hidden by shelves where Hermione sat. It was a nice place to hide, no one could see her there and she had a clear view of the entrance and part of the library.
She looked up at him, eyebrows raised.
"Hiding from someone," he muttered sheepishly.
She shrugged and resumed practicing the charm, which hadn't quite worked yet but she wasn't going to give up until she got it right.
"Alohomora," she swished her wand and the lock of the little box clicked open. She jumped up excitedly and the boy stared at her with unmasked shock and curiosity.
"How did you do that? They haven't even taught us that yet," he said incredulously. He used to think that muggle-borns could not do magic easily, not without someone teaching them first. And here this girl was already performing a spell not even taught in class yet.
"I've been practicing a few simple spells on my own," she shrugged.
"Aren't you a muggle-born?" He still seemed quite shocked, even more so as the question tumbled out of his mouth.
"And your point is?" Hermione asked indignantly. "I'm Hermione Granger, by the way," she added as an afterthought.
"Draco Malfoy," the boy introduced himself smugly, seeming rather proud of his name.
Making friends was going as well as she had expected it to, she tended to talk a lot when she was nervous, which came across as bossy and intimidated her peers, she was used to it by now. Draco Malfoy already seemed rather arrogant to her and she wondered if anything intimidated him.
"I am really liking Transfiguration," Hermione said, eager to make conversation, "it really is something, isn't it, to be able to transform one thing into another? I already read the course book on the subject. Did you know a third year was once trying to turn a box into a bird and couldn't do it properly, it got stuck halfway. It's really quite tricky." She was rambling now.
Draco sat down on a vacant chair in front of her. She seemed fascinating to him. She knew quite a lot for someone who was a muggle-born. And seeing the unlocking charm she had performed quite successfully, she seemed pretty talented too.
From there on Hermione and Draco had become friends, spending time talking about classes and learning and practicing new spells.
Draco was slowly starting to learn that muggles, or muggle-borns weren't as inferior as his father had him believe, and they certainly didn't live like cavemen. While Hermione acquainted him with muggle culture, he talked about life as a wizard and living with house elves. He loved talking about his elf, Miffy, and how as an only child he only had her to play with, getting into all sorts of trouble together.
.
One day on the beginning of November, Hermione finally asked Draco who he keeps hiding from.
"Pansy Parkinson," he replied, "I mean she would not stop talking about how many trips around Europe her parents take her on, or fawning over the captain of the Holyhead Harpies. I mean, honestly."
Hermione could not stop laughing at the horrified expression he wore.
.
Everything was fine until a week before Halloween when Draco started ignoring Hermione, so much as even avoiding her in corridors when she tried to confront him about it.
She was in the library seething when she found a folded piece of parchment poking out of a book lying on the table she and Draco usually occupied. She opened it to find it was a letter to Draco from his father, and he seemed to have left it here for her to read for some reason.
Draco
It has come to my attention that you have been associating with a mudblood. Miss Hermione Granger is her name, I believe.
Son, I am sure I have impressed upon you enough what kind of dirty blood they carry. I'm surprised they have any magic at all. They are not worthy of your time and attention, and I will not have my only son turning into a blood traitor and tainting the family name by being anywhere near that kind of scum.
I hope my words are loud and clear to you and I won't have to step in and do something about the matter myself.
Your father
Lucius Malfoy
Hermione was in tears by the time she had finished reading the letter, hurt and angry at the threatening tone in it. Her only friend was not allowed to be her friend and was taught to believe that she was scum.
In Charms class, Hermione was in a bad mood, actively trying to distract herself from her anger and how hurt she felt so she would not cry. She was also more determined than ever to prove herself as she displayed her mastery of the Levitation charm in front of the whole class. The expression of pride on Professor Flitwick's face as he clapped made her feel a little better, knowing that she could do just as well, or even better, than any pureblood.
"It's no wonder no one can stand her," she heard Ron say as they filed in the corridor after the class was over; "she's a nightmare, honestly."
All her anger came rushing back at her classmates' words, tears finally flowing freely from her eyes. She pushed past the herd of students in the corridor, escaping to the nearest girls' bathroom, where she stayed for the rest of the afternoon, until a scary looking troll showed up.
—-—-
A/N: The rest is same as it happens in the book, Harry and Ron show up, save her, and they become friends.