I saw this idea awhile ago. And it intrigued me. In Chamber of Secrets, Ron and Harry have to steal the flying car to get to Hogwarts, etc., etc. But how did no one think of Hermione? I feel bad that I honestly completely forgot about her. At first I thought that she would be fine. After all, it's our Hermione. Our tough, brilliant Hermione. But this is a twelve year old girl we're talking about. She doesn't know where her friends are. She probably thought they abandoned her. So I wrote this for Hermione Granger.

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Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

I honestly didn't expect them to be early.

Really, I didn't. I mean, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter? If anything, they would be late. Ron's family was huge, of course, and I couldn't expect Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to get all five children out the door easily. Harry, too, would probably have some trouble. His aunt and uncle weren't very pleasant, he had told me (in maybe some less nice words), but I knew he would somehow convince them. Harry always, did after all.

So I wasn't worried when I showed up before them. After all, I showed up before nearly everyone (my parents and I both prefer to be on time, thank you). I wasn't even worried when other people arrived, and still no sign of Harry or Ron.

But I was slightly nervous when it got to 10:50, ten minutes before the train left. My mum and dad noticed, too, and asked me what was wrong. I didn't want to tell them, but they could see it in my eyes.

My mother bent down to my level, her big brown eyes staring into mine. "Hermione, dear," she said, her sweet voice making me relax. "They'll be here soon." They knew all about Ron and Harry, of course, and said they'd be very pleased to meet my friends. I had known they would be, after all. No one said it out loud, but my parents and I were both pleased that I had made my first real friends.

Or so I hoped.

Anyway, I had been pretty sure they would come eventually. And my feet hurt from standing at the platform so long, so I told my parents I was going to board the train.

"Alright, sweetheart," my father said, giving me a warm smile that I returned - albeit a little nervously. "You have all your stuff?" He hesitated, and I smiled and nodded. I knew he still felt slightly uncomfortable with mentioning that I was magical. He gave me a small, sad smile. "Be safe, alright?" He kissed me on the forehead, squeezed my hand, and then my mom hugged me. She was much more touchy-feely than my father, and I started to get emotional when she sighed sadly.

"Oh, my Hermione," She patted my cheek gently. "So smart, so talented. You'll grow up to be so great, love." Her eyes were glistening in the corners.

"I'm not that old, Mummy," I protested quickly. "And I'll see you in a few months. At Christmas."

Both my parents laughed. "Of course, but goodness knows you grow up so fast," my mother told me with a melancholy tone of voice.

"I'll still be Hermione." I insisted. I didn't want to change. Did they really think I would so quickly?

"Yes, my clever girl," my father told me with a smile. "But you can't help growing up." He paused. "You just work hard, alright?"

I nodded, but my mother smoothed down my hair hurriedly. "But have fun, sweetheart, okay?" she told me, her eyes slightly worried. "Hogwarts is a wonderful school where you can learn a lot, we know, but enjoy yourself, love."

I smiled at her. She pecked my cheek and smoothed my hair down again. It was a nervous habit of hers. "Love you." I told them, hugging my mother and father tightly.

I grabbed my large suitcase by the handle with both hands, dragging over to the train door. I did my best to push it on the train, but it was already getting crowded, with a steady stream of people leaving and boarding the train, so no one noticed the short, bushy haired girl trying to get on the Hogwarts Express.

"Hermione?" I voice piped up behind me. I turned to see Neville, holding his toad Trevor in his hand tightly. So tight, in fact, that I worried he would choke the poor thing to death.

"Hi, Neville," I said breathlessly, wiping my brow.

"Hello," he muttered. His eyes flicked to my luggage. "Do you, um, need help?"

I nodded. "Yes, please, thank you." There was an air of awkwardness between us as we loaded my suitcase onto the train, but maybe that was just me. (Neville was admittedly pretty awkward all the time.) After the end of last year, when I had petrified Neville, I had felt awful. Of course, I supposed I had helped Neville and our entire house by giving him the chance to stand up to Harry, Ron, and I, but I still felt bad. Neville hadn't mentioned anything afterwards, but I was still worried he would hold it against me.

Neville helped me find an empty compartment, and I asked, "Where's your luggage?" My sudden words startled him visibly, and he flinched.

"Oh, I already put it in another compartment," he mumbled. "I was on the platform to say good-bye to my grandmother."

I nodded. "Oh, okay." I paused. "Do you want to sit in my compartment?" I wondered if he was sitting alone.

Neville blushed. "Aren't you sitting with Harry and Ron?"

I shrugged. "We'll have an extra seat."

He shook his head hurriedly as he turned more red. "Uh, no thank you," he stuttered. "I'm, er, sitting with Hannah and her friends."

"Hannah? Hannah Abbott in Hufflepuff?"

If possible, Neville blushed harder. "Yeah," he mumbled.

I stared at him awkwardly, quickly closing my open mouth. "Right, then." I glanced out the window. "I'll see you later then?"

Neville looked relieved at a chance to go, and he quickly nodded. "Yeah, of course." And he quickly sped out of the room.

I realized as soon as he'd left that I needed help to get my luggage above the seats, but I didn't want to call him back. I would just ask Ron and Harry. When they got here, that is.

Worry filled me again as I remembered my best friends. Where were they? I peeked out of the train, looking over the sea of witches and wizards and of course some Muggles too. The large clock said 10: 56. I scanned the people, looking for a head of messy raven black or hair or bright shocking red. Nothing. I realized quickly that it was no use. It was already crowded, and neither Harry nor Ron were tall enough to be easily noticeable.

I sat down on the bench with a sigh, pulling out one of my favorite books to pass the time; Hogwarts, a History. As I breathed in the smell of the book (no, that is not weird), I cleared my mind of any worry, putting my faith in my friends.

As I opened the book, I had complete faith that they would come.

But oh, was I wrong.

The train whistle pulled me out of my thoughts.

With a start, I looked up from my book. How long had I been reading? I had only barely gotten into the third chapter in Hogwarts, A History. Was the train already leaving?

Shaking my head of its distracted thoughts, I quickly shut my book - with my page number tucked into the corner of my mind - and placed it on my seat.

I rushed over to my compartment window as the train whistled again. The platform was so very crowded, and I could see hundreds of people waving and blowing kisses to their loved ones on the train. Students - including me - were hanging out of the windows, saying good-bye enthusiastically back. Some were even rushing to hop on the train last minute, and I remembered Harry and Ron.

Thinking of them made me feel sick to my stomach - with worry, mind you. I wondered where they possibly could be. They couldn't just not show up. Could they? I swallowed, my stomach in knots.

Luckily, at that moment, my eyes locked onto my mother's. My parents had stayed here to watch me leave. The thought calmed me, and I managed a tight smile in my mother and father's direction as they waved.

While my father just looked sad to see me go, my mother could tell I was worried. Her brow furrowed, but both she and I knew we were too far away to communicate in any way, and besides, I was about to leave.

I was about to leave.

My bit my lip. I cursed my best friends in my mind as I scanned the crowd for any bright red or dark black. Maybe a white owl? Would Ron go through with his plan to save Harry from his aunt and uncle's house? Ron and I had both shared worry in letters over the summer. Harry hadn't answered anything we'd sent.

More worry overcame me. Did Harry really need saving? Was he in danger? Why hadn't he answered our letters?

I wondered if Harry even wanted to answer our letters. Would he really want to talk to Ron and I? Was he actually our friend?

Another terrible thought seized me. What if neither Harry nor Ron were my friends? What if they'd been avoiding me all summer? What if they don't want to be my friends?

Maybe that's why I haven't seen them, I worried. Did I know those two boys as well as I thought I did? Admittedly, I'd only known them half of last year, but I thought… well, after all we'd been through...

I took a deep breathe to try and calm my nerves. I was so worried and confused. So many questions, and no answers. In a last attempt to look for Harry and Ron, I opened my eyes again and leaned far out of the window, scanning the crowds for a sign. Anything, something, I prayed.

A flash of red.

That caught my eye, and my gaze locked onto the group of heads of red hair hurrying to the train. The Hogwarts Express was about to leave! Would the Weasleys (I assumed it was the Weasleys) make it?

I watched as George - or maybe Fred - hopped onto the train quickly, followed by his twin, whooping good-bye to his mother, a tired looking Mrs. Weasley, who stood on the edge of the platform. I craned my neck, but I couldn't see Ron or Harry. I saw Mrs. Weasley push Ginny's luggage onto the train with the help of Percy.

I huffed in frustration when some other students stuck their heads out of the windows to wave good-bye to their families. I almost told them to move aside, but I realized quickly that it would be rude and bossy and I just… I didn't want to be that anymore.

Biting my lip, I concluded that I would just read a little more and wait till Ron and Harry found me in my compartment.

I sat down and pulled out my book again, satisfied that they would find me. After all, they were my best friends. My only friends. My first friends. They would look and find me, and then we would laugh and talk and catch up and just be… together again, after the whole summer.

I smiled at the thought. I couldn't wait to tell them about this one book I read, it was a Muggle book so Ron might not understand, but the theories were wonderful. And then I hoped that Ron would explain more about how the Quidditch season was going this year because I hated not understanding something that other children my age did. Plus, Quidditch was popular. And I knew Harry and Ron were both obsessed with it. Maybe liking Quidditch would make our bond stronger.

I wanted to ask them all about their families (I knew about Ron's, but I couldn't wait to meet Ginny in person for the first time). I was still contemplating whether or not I should tell them about my parents' raise in their job. It may bore them, but I hoped that I could maybe invite them to my house over Christmas Break this year…

I stayed in my compartment, occasionally glancing out the door at the passing students. I peeked up when Fred and George came by (the flash or red immediately caught my eye) but quickly ducked back behind my book. After all, Fred and George were fourth years, and I was only second year. Plus, they were really popular, even with older students. They made me nervous, even if I knew they were really funny.

Luckily (or maybe not luckily) they didn't look in my compartment or notice me. I perked up, however, when I realized that Ron at least would be close by. My friends would come, I was sure of it.

But they never did.

And so I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

I knew they were on the train. I saw the Weasleys. And I hoped Ron and saved Harry from his dreadful summer home like he'd told me he'd planned. September 1st wasn't something you just missed. Even if they were sick, this was Hogwarts. You had to go.

A sickening feeling wormed itself first into my stomach with my nervousness, then into my brain with worry, and then into my heart. With sadness.

Because what real friends would abandon their friend on the first day of school? What best friends would ignore and just simply not look for their friend?

By the time the Hogwarts Express had reached the countryside, I was devastated. And slightly angry. How could they leave me like that? I had half the mind to get up and look for them, but I…

I was scared. I couldn't. Because I was terrified of what I might find. Ron and Harry, in their own compartment, laughing and eating and discussing Quidditch. Just like last year. This was just like last year. My eyes filled with tears. Last year, too, I had been alone. Well, technically not alone. I had been with Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan, but the boys only talked to each other, and eventually they left to find the snack cart but never came back (to which I bore no grudge, really).

I tried to swallow back my tears, but they kept falling. What was worse, no one noticed. No one even passed by my compartment. It was like they were avoiding me. Or they just didn't notice. Last time I had been this devastated had been before I had been friends with Harry and Ron. I had run to the girls' lavatory and cried the entire day. The troll came after me, but Ron and Harry saved me. And then we'd become best friends.

This time, they weren't here to save me.

And I was alone, without my friends.

Again.

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