Disclaimer: I own nothing, JK rules all. This story was inspired by the prompt 'I wonder what Hermione did the whole train ride to Hogwarts while Harry and Ron had the flying car…'
Hermione's Journey
Hermione stood eagerly beside the scarlet engine, it's cotton coloured steam billowing her bushy hair in every possible direction. The Drs. Granger were at her heel, whispering excitedly at the sighting of the magical menagerie that was platform 9 and ¾. Although she was not a novice to the magical world, this was Hermione's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; she still felt somewhat of an outsider amongst her peers. Her nice family holiday on the coast was altogether consumed by pouring over 'Hogwarts: A History', 'Standard Book of Spells: Grade 2' and the entire collected works of Gilderoy Lockhart, who she discerned to be a most inspiring wizard. This had left little time for family activities her mother had planned, but as long as Hermione was allowed to bring her schoolbooks (covered with a Muggle dust-jacket of course) to the picnics by the seaside everyone was happy.
She glanced at her wristwatch, visibly concerned that neither of her best friends had arrived yet.
"Everything all right, dear?" inquired her mother gently.
"Oh yes, fine Mum. The train should be leaving soon though, so I'd better get on."
Hermione hugged and kissed her parents goodbye, leaping up onto the nearest carriage to join her already loaded trunk. She decided that her friends would probably be there soon; surely Mrs. Weasley wouldn't allow them to miss the train, and so it was best to wait patiently for them aboard the train. Pressing her freckled nose against the glass she waved bashfully at her beaming parents, just overhearing her father "…Gracious, look at all those owls…" over the bustle of the shortly departing Express.
Brows furrowed, Hermione was just beginning to panic when she saw several shocks of red hair weaving their way through the crowd. Oh good, she thought, they've made it just on time. Relaxing slightly she turned back to her parents, giving them a final wave before settling in for the journey, a bit of light reading occupying the seat beside her. Not two minutes later the familiar low hoot of the train whistle blew, signaling their departure from King's Cross.
Two stocky redheads walked past the compartment, talking animatedly about an apparent mishap with their stockpile of Dr Filibuster's Wet-Start Fireworks. These were Ron's older brothers, Fred and George, so logically Hermione expected Harry and Ron to stroll down the corridor at any moment, laughing about the same incident and rushing to tell her. But when minutes passed without sign of them she stuck her nose into Magical Me, glancing hopefully at the hallway with her peripheral vision.
Otherwise engrossed in the fourth chapter, Gilderoy: How the Smile Made the Man, Hermione saw a bounce of red hair approach her compartment and snapped her book shut—ready to discover what on earth had taken the two so long. However she noticed the hair belonged to someone much shorter than the lanky Ron, and it fell in a shoulder length wave. Ginny Weasley slid open the compartment door meekly,
"Do you mind if I sit in here? Only, it's full everywhere else…"
Hermione, though disappointed she had not yet found her friends, was glad for the company.
"Of course Ginny" she managed brightly, "please, sit down."
Ginny settled in opposite, offering Hermione a meek smile and a hurried thanks.
"You, er, don't know where Harry and Ron are do you?" Hermione asked tentatively.
Perhaps shocked at being spoken to so directly, Ginny clutched tightly at the leather bound book in her hands and shook her head quickly.
"…I expect they got on after me…'cause Mum and Dad were hurrying to help with my trunk. Seriously, we, uh, barely made it onto the train in time…" she spoke shyly.
To Hermione this wasn't a good sign. Either the two had just made it onto the last carriage and were sat put there, or they had just missed the service, meaning the Weasley's would have to find some other way of getting the straggling boys to school. If only she had an owl to borrow, just to check they were all right of course.
The girls sat in silence for a few minutes, both unsure of what to say to each other. Hermione and Ginny had only met briefly before, in Diagon Alley during the summer. Unfortunately everything else they knew about each other had been filtered through Ron, who wasn't exactly winning any prizes for his emotional sensitivity. His letters to Hermione only complained of Ginny, her girlhood crush on their mutual friend Harry and fiery temper when it came to her brothers. Other than that Hermione knew very little of her new red headed companion, and she likewise. Ginny had also received the brunt of Ron's incessant complaining, in his portrait of Hermione as a bossy 'know it all'. But she could tell that he also harbored a great deal of admiration for her—though he would never admit it to her face.
Evergreen hills rolled by the train windows lazily and the sky had dimmed with the afternoon sun. Both girls were clutching books to their chests like shields when, finally, one spoke up to strike a conversation. Hermione was surprised at Ginny's boldness, but perhaps now that Harry and Ron weren't around she could show her true spirit.
"So do you, er…like… being in Gryffindor?" she asked hesitantly, but with a clear voice.
"Oh yes, it's wonderful! Professor McGonagall's an excellent head of house and everyone in the common room is usually very friendly. Although, I expect… you must know a lot about Gryffindor already, from your brothers?"
Ginny gave a small smile and shrugged.
"A bit I guess, but you can't always believe what they say. Fred once told me that you have to duel a magical beast to get into the common room, but Mum said his backside would be dueling with her saucepan if he didn't stop riling me up."
Hermione rushed into a frantic attempt to soothe Ginny,
"Oh there's nothing like that! You'll be fine, honestly…they shouldn't have tried to frighten you about this stuff! There's absolutely nothing to worry about, not even the sorting...although you might get a bit nervous, but that's perfectly natural!"
Ginny, touched by Hermione's concern, suppressed the desire to retort that she thought Fred and George's attempts to dismay her were amusing, and actually had an oddly reassuring effect (for if there was something to worry about surely they wouldn't be teasing her). Besides, her family seemed entirely confident she would be sorted into Gryffindor, although she wasn't entirely sure herself. But what she was really worried about would perhaps not have crossed Hermione's mind; who was an only child and already a notably gifted witch. Ginny herself was the youngest of seven. She had so much to live up to—three prefects in the family, a head boy, a quidditch captain. Fred and George were funny, popular and magically inventive. Even Ron had his own claim to fame, being awarded 50 points last year from Dumbledore himself, allowing Gryffindor to finally win the House Cup. Ginny was therefore torn between living up to the great expectations of her family and attempting to somehow form her own identity. She wanted people to see her as Ginny Weasley, not as Bill/Charlie/Percy/Fred/George/Ron Weasley's little sister.
The two chatted away while the sky faded to the colour of diluted ink and the sun was lost past the horizon. The trolley had long ago passed and Hermione had made an uncharacteristic splurge with the remainder of her birthday money; buying a small continent of chocolate frogs to share with Ginny. Good food was often the best start to a friendship, and the awkwardness between the girls had evaporated amongst the eating of chocolate and trading of cards (Ginny needed some to trade with Ron whereas Hermione used them indiscriminately as page markers).
As the train rolled on they changed into their school robes, all the while discussing what upcoming classes they were most looking forward to. Suddenly a freckled boy with a round face rapped on the compartment sliding, looking frantic. Hermione waved him in,
"Hello Neville, what's wrong? You're not even in your robes, and were nearly there…"
Neville had barely even sucked in the breath to speak before Hermione sternly answered her own question.
"You've lost Trevor again… haven't you Neville?"
He lowered his head shamefully like a scolded puppy dog, objecting quietly, " He was right next to me, I swear, and then he wasn't…"
Hermione got up, straightened her robes and bounced out of the corridor with Neville at a slight delay before he followed at her heels. Ginny sat alone, looking around rapidly, unsure if she had been abandoned to her own devices. She was just about to open her diary before both Hermione and this boy called Neville rematerialized, with the addition of a squirming toad to their unlikely trio. Neville murmured a thanks as they both sat down, Hermione wearing a bemused but kind expression before realizing her mistake.
"Oh Ginny, I forgot! This is Neville Longbottom. He's a Gryffindor too, in second year"
Ginny and Neville exchanged timid 'Hellos', before Neville's eyes travelled to Ginny's flaming red hair. "You wouldn't be Ron's sister by any chance?" to which Ginny nodded.
"Er, Hermione…where are Ron and Harry?"
Hermione and Ginny looked at each other, stunned, for as the journey had progressed they had forgotten even that the boys were missing.
A/N: Please Read and Review, any feedback is welcome because I'm thinking of continuing this to include shots of Hermione sans-trio throughout the series! Thanks to all readers :)