A/N: This is my first fic! My goal is to have separate chapters for each of their years at Hogwarts.

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter.

Harry walked back to Gryffindor tower tired, damp, and muddy after a late night Quidditch practice. Wood had been lecturing the team over Ravenclaw's gameplay for nearly an hour.

Fortunately, Harry didn't run into Filch who he was sure would get onto him for walking around the castle at night, tracking mud everywhere. At last, he arrived at the Gryffindor common room and entered, dismissing the Fat Lady's questioning remarks on his late arrival.

The common room was deserted for the most part except for a few students. Ron was still down at Hagrid's hut helping him feed Norbert. The fireplace was burning brightly against the wall. As soon as the portrait hole had swung open, a bushy brown head on the couch turned his way.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. "How was practice?"

"Boring," responded Harry. "Wood just went on and on about gameplays nearly the whole time." Harry walked over to where she was sitting on the couch and sat down beside her.

"Well, you definitely stink," she said with her nose scrunched up.

"Sorry, I can go shower real quick if you want."

"Oh, no, it's alright actually," Hermione responded with a laugh, and they fell into an awkward silence. Hermione was the first to break it.

"Hey, Harry?" she said in a slightly high-pitched voice.

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're my friend."

Harry turned to look her way and saw that her eyes were starting to well up a bit with tears. "I was just thinking about my life before Hogwarts and how it has changed so much. Before I came here, I didn't expect to make any friends at all. I hated primary school because everyone made fun of me for being a know-it-all, and they weren't joking like the way you and Ron do sometimes."

Harry wasn't sure how to respond having never dealt with girls' or let alone, another person's feelings.

"You know, I felt the same way entering Hogwarts, too," he said looking down sadly at his shoes. "Much of my time at primary school was spent hiding from Dudley and his friends. I never really had a true friend, until now." He gave a small smile to Hermione which she returned back.

"I miss my parents, though," she whispered.

As soon as she the words had left her mouth, a chill went through them both and the color drained from Hermione's face. She looked at Harry, her mouth wide in horror.

"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry!" she blurted out. "I - I'm so stupid."

"It's alright, Hermione," he said. Harry half expected himself to feel hurt at the mention of his parents, but in reality, he simply felt indifferent. "It's completely okay for you to miss your parents. In fact, if I was in your shoes, I'd probably feel the same way, too, especially considering you've known them longer than I knew mine," he ended a bit solemnly.

"I suppose so, but it still is quite terrible," she responded.

"I don't need your sympathy, Hermione."

She chuckled and turned to look into the fire. "You know, if you're ever upset or want to talk about anything, I'm here for you, Harry."

Shocked by her statement, Harry turned to look into the fire as well. No one had ever offered him that kind of support in his life before and he felt extremely lucky to have her as a friend.

"Thanks, Hermione."

And the two friends sat watching the fire in peace for a while before their other friend, Ron, appeared, his hand all bloody from Norbert the dragon.

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to follow the fic so you'll get an update when the next chapter is posted. Not sure when that'll be but whenever I get a chance! :)