Today was September 1st, the first day of a new life for me, Hermione Granger. As I walked through the barrier between platform 9 and 10 onto platform 9 ¾ there, parked in the station, was the Hogwarts Express. I still couldn't believe that I, Hermione Granger, was a witch. When I got the letter back in August I almost had a heart attack. I always read books about witches and wizards but never thought of them being real.

I gave both of my parents big hugs before running on the train. After at least 5 minutes of searching the train I finally found a compartment with only one person in it. He was a boy about my height with jet black hair that was jelled down. He had brown eyes like me but slightly darker, two buck teeth that stuck out slightly, and a scrunched up nose. He was already wearing his school robes and was sitting on the seat looking out the window. I opened the compartment door and smiled at him.

"Hello. Do you mind if I join you? Everywhere else is full" I asked sweetly

"Of course not. Come right in." He said shyly but with a big smile on his face. I put my luggage in the little compartment above the seat. I sat down across from the boy and looked out the window. Some kids were still coming on the train. I saw one plump, red headed woman yelling at two twins who I was guessing were her children by their red hair. There were also three more kids with her. One must have been the oldest because he had a prefects badge on his robes. The other boy looked like he was in my year with blue eyes and was wearing a blue striped shirt with baggy jeans. I could tell he was trying not to laugh because his shoulders were shaking and he couldn't stop smiling. Lastly there was a young girl who looked too young to be coming to Hogwarts. She was also a short haired red head that was wearing a green dress with white long sleeves. She also looked like she was enjoying the scene. I couldn't help but smile while watching this. "So what's your name?"The boy asked suddenly, making me jump and snapping me out of my trance.

"Huh? Oh, yeah it's Hermione. Hermione Granger. I'm a muggleborn. And you?" I asked

"Neville Longbottom. Pureblood. I live with my Granma. It's cool sometimes but I…." he trailed off. He started looking around franticly as if he was looking for something. "Bloody hell!" he yelled, still looking around.

"What's wrong Neville? Is everything okay?" I asked, worried that something was wrong.

"My blasted toad is missing again! I swear that I brought it with me and it was right next to me. I swear to mother of Merlin that toad is going to be the death of me!" he yelled. Now he was starting to throw his stuff around. One of his books almost hit me in the head but I dodged it. I picked it up off the ground and read the title, Beastly. I remembered reading this book and it was really good. I then remembered what was going on around me with Neville.

"Hey, hey, calm down. We'll just go around to the compartments and ask if they've seen him. I'll take the front half and you take the back half. Then we'll meet back here when we're done. Ok?" I said

His face relaxed a little after I said this. "Ok. Lets get started" he said just as the train started to move.

It had been about a half hour later and no one had seen the toad. On the plus side I got to meet the world famous Harry Potter and the red headed kid, Ron Weasly he said his name was, that couldn't stop smiling at his twins before. I looked down at my feet while I was walking and noticed that I still had Neville's book in my hand. I opened it up and saw a picture of him and an old woman, who I was guessing was his Granma, smiling and waving up at me. See, in the magical world their pictures move which I thought was really cool. While I was admiring the picture I accidentally smashed right into someone and fell backwards on the ground.

"OW! Watch where you're…." The boy that I smashed into started but trailed off as he looked at me. He was a boy that looked in my year with platinum blond hair that was jelled back. The thing that popped out about him was his eyes. They were a stormy, grayish, silver color.

"Um….I-I-I'm so sorry. I was just...Uh…just looking at something. Not paying attention. Sorry" I said really quickly. I stood up and started to dust my robes off.

"Oh it's ok. I wasn't really paying attention either" he said nervously. We looked at each other for a second longer then turned away.

"Well I better go, I have someone waiting for me. See you around" I said quietly while smiling shyly. I turned around to leave and started to walk back to my compartment. I was about half way down when I heard someone calling me from behind.

"Hey girl wait up!" a familiar voice called. I turned around to see the boy I bumped into running up to me.

"Yes?" I asked nicely, wondering what made him come after me.

"Um you dropped your book over there when we bumped into each other." he said, handing me the book I just now realized I wasn't carrying. I looked in it and saw that the picture was still in there. "I'm Draco by the way. Draco Malfoy." He said while holding out his hand for me to shake.

"I'm Hermione Granger. Nice to meet you and thank you for returning the book." I said with a friendly smile while shaking his hand.

"That's a really great book." Draco commented, "I read it a couple of years ago. It sends a really good message for people who think they're better then everyone."

"Yeah, I hate people like that." I added. I walked up to the window next to where I was standing "Imagine if there was a witch that could make people who are beastly look it. Then they realize that its not always about the looks and that it's about who you are. This author has wrote a lot of books, and being the bookworm I am I've read all of them. She's a wonderful writer, reminds me of my mum. She loves to write stories like this author." I said with a smile on my face. I saw him staring at me from the corner of my eye and turned around so I was facing him.

"The only hobby my mom has is shopping." He said, making both of us laugh. I turned back to the window. And here it was. The thing I hate the most. Silence. The only difference now was that this silence was not awkward but comfortable and relaxing. "So what house do you want to be in?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"Well there are two I have in mind. The first one I would like is Ravenclaw. Mostly because I'm a big bookworm. I'm also what people call a know-it-all. My grades are one of my biggest priorities. I also think I would be good in Gryffindor. I'm really brave when it comes to sticking up for what I believe in and sticking up for my friends. I'm also very loyal to people. I'm there when people need me most. My dad always says loyalty is the best policy." I said. He chuckled a little which I didn't mind. "What about you? What house do you want to be in?"

"I really want to be in Slytherin. That's where all the Malfoys have ended up and I kind of don't want to be the odd one out. My dad's really hoping I get into Slytherin too. He says it's his lifelong dream" Draco said chuckling at the last part. "But Slytherin is also the house for the brave and cunning. You wouldn't be bad in that house"

"No muggleborn has ever made it in Slytherin and anyways I don't think I'm so cunning"

"You're a muggleborn?" he asked, looking at me like I had three heads.

"Yeah, why? Is something wrong?"

"Well…." He hesitated "My dad has this whole thing against muggleborns. He said they're dirty blood." What? I thought. How could his father be so cruel? There is no such thing as dirty blood instead of the cold blooded people out there like Lord Voldemort. Wait. Will this change how he thinks about me?

"Oh." Was all I could say.

"But I don't think that!" Draco said quickly "I think it's a load of bull. He's always tried to brainwash me into his beliefs but I'm too smart for that." He said proudly which made me smile. He must have noticed me smiling because his face instantly relaxed. "You know, I like you. You're the only person who doesn't judge me or want to just hang out with me because I'm a Malfoy." He said matter of factly.

I could feel my cheeks heating up, knowing I was blushing. "Why does it matter what your last name is?"I asked. I didn't see why people would like him for his last name.

"The Malfoy family is known for our wealth. People hang around me hoping they'll get something good or be invited to the parties. People also expect me to be this horrible, arrogant monster like my father so people act scared around me. " Draco answered me sadly. He looked down but I could see tears glistening in his eyes. Even though I just met him I could already tell that he's had a rough life and that he's lonely. What he needs is a true friend that liked him for him and would not pretend around him. Luckily for him I knew just the gal.

"Well like I said, I'm very loyal. Your life just now changed because an amazing girl like me just walked into it. Now you have a true friend because I could care less about money. Money is nothing but a piece of paper, or in wizard's case nothing but round metal. And by the looks of it you're no pureblood monster who only cares about himself. If you were I doubt you'd be talking to me or reading a muggle book like Beastly." I said confidently. He looked at me in awe. By the look in his eyes I could tell no one has ever told him anything like that before. It made me blush even more.

"Thank you. I really appreciate it" he said while smiling. I couldn't help but smile too.

"Come on." I said leading him back to my compartment

"Where are we going?"

"To my compartment. You need to be around real people, not foneys. So hurry up please" I answered sweetly. I could hear him laugh behind me. About five minutes later I finally found my compartment. Neville was back already and in his hands was his toad. When I opened the compartment door he looked over and gave me a cheeky smile.

"Hermione! I found him!" he said excitingly while jumping up from the seat to show me his toad. "He was in the prefects compartment and the Head Boy was giving me a lecture on how I need to be more…" he stopped when he realized that Draco was also in the room. "careful." He finished. I looked at Draco who looked very uncomfortable. He was shuffling his feet and was playing with his hands while looking down like he just got yelled at. I looked back at Neville who looked confused but also surprised to see a Malfoy with a muggleborn. Its ok I mouthed to Neville who nodded understanding.

"So…um…oh! I have your book Neville I was looking at it and forgot to give it back" I said changing the subject. I handed the book to Neville and sat down with Draco doing the same. I glanced at Draco who glanced at Neville who sat down across from us smiling at the book. He put the toad in his pocket and looked at us.

"Thanks. It's my favorite book. It use to belong to my mother before she went to for their mental institute with my dad. That's why I live with my Granma but I still get to visit." He said sadly but smiled at the end

"I'm so sorry." Draco said speaking for the first time. "I'm Draco by the way."

"Thank you" he said, surprised by Draco's kindness. "I'm Neville."

"It's nice to meet you, Neville. Your mother has great taste in books. My mum also gave me Beastly. It was one of the first books I've ever read. Hermione and I were actually talking about the theme," he started telling Neville about our conversation about the book and Neville said he totally agreed. That's how the rest of the train ride was, just us talking about Beastly and other books as well. The train finally came to a stop and we gathered our things. Before we left the compartment Draco stopped me and mouthed Thank You to me before running ahead of me to catch up with Neville.

"You're welcome" I said quietly and ran to catch up with Draco and Neville. That's when I knew I just made my first two friends at Hogwarts.