Ch. 2- First Day

Hermione sits in a desk, eagerly listening to Professor Snape. "Ah, Harry Potter. Our new celebrity." He drones, and snickers sound through the room. Hermione shoots a glance towards Draco and he returns the look, also giving her a wink.

She blushes and looks down at her papers. Snape asks a series of questions directed to Harry who replies with, "I don't know, sir." Hermione raises her hand at each one but Snape just ignores it.

"Well, well. Clearly fame isn't everything. Does anyone know the answers?" Hermione raises her hand higher, hoping to be called on. "Why don't you ask Hermione? I'm sure she knows." Harry says sarcastically, sending rings of laughter through the room.

Hermione blushes in embarrassment and stares down at her lap. She sees Draco shoot a glare towards Harry and she smiles. The bell rings, and she packs up her stuff and starts to head towards the door when someone bumps into her.

She stumbles but a hand catches her arm and steadies her. "Oops, sorry." A voice drawls, and Hermione looks up into the smirking face of Draco Malfoy. She blushes fiercely and picks up her stuff. "You seem to blush a lot." Draco points out and bends down to help her and when she looks up, they bump heads.

"Ow." Draco groans, holding his forehead. "I'm so sorry!" Hermione gasps, reaching to touch his face. He smiles and shrugs. "It's fine." Hermione crosses her arms and stares at him. "Are you sure?" He smiles and then kisses her cheek. "I'm sure." He assures her, his breath hot against her ear.

Hermione blushes for the 100th time and watches him as he walks away. She hurries to the Great Hall, passing people in the hallway. As she's walking, she overhears Ron whispering to Harry, "Hermione's such a know-it all. No wonder she hasn't got any real friends."

She pushes past him, tears forming in her eyes. She hears Harry whisper back, "Now look what you've done." She runs to the girl's bathroom, pushing past people, not bothering to say sorry. "Hermione!" She knows that voice, but she doesn't turn back. She keeps heading for the bathroom.

"Hermione!" Draco shouts louder, but she keeps running. Finally she's there and she bursts into the bathroom, not surprised that no one's in there. They're probably all done in the Great Hall by now. She hears the door squeak open and she sees the form of Malfoy making his way in.

"This is the girl's bathroom." She informs him through the tears on her face. He walks over to her and starts to wipe away her tears. "What's wrong?" He asks, geniunely concerned. "Ron. He-" She sniffles, and she wipes her nose with her sleeve. "He said I don't have any friends."

"I'm your friend." Draco hugs her, and Hermione smiles. Suddenly there is a crash and Hermione instantly looks up. A huge troll is pushing its way through the door, sending debris flying. Draco looks up too, then he's pushing Hermione under a sink, using his body to shield the rest of her.

Harry and Ron come running in, stopping at the sight of the troll standing there. "Confuse it!" Harry shouts to Ron who is standing there, looking flustered. "What am I supposed to do?" He shouts back. Draco grabs Hermione's hand and tries to pull her towards the door, but she's staring at the troll, frozen in shock.

"Oy, pea-brain!" Ron grabs a metal pipe and throws it at the troll's head. It doesn't notice the pipe hitting it but it hears the yell and lumbers towards Ron, giving Harry time to run around it.

Harry jumps and wraps his arms around the troll's neck. His wand, that had been in his hand, goes up the troll's nostril. It howls in pain and starts swinging its club around. Harry manages to hang on, clinging for dear life. Draco keeps tugging on Hermione's hand but she sinks to the floor in fear.

Ron pulls out his wand and screams, "Wingardium Leviosa!" The club flies out of the troll's hand and rises higher and higher until it drops onto the troll's head with a sickening thud. The troll stumbles and then finally drops onto the ground, shaking the floor like an earthquake.

Hermione clutches Draco's hand as if it's a lifeline while Ron is standing with his wand raised, staring at the troll with awe on his face. After several seconds of silence, Hermione speaks first. "Is it dead?"

Harry shakes his head. "I think it's just knocked out." He pulls his wand out of the troll's nose but almost wished he hadn't. It's covered in troll boogers. Suddenly footsteps were pounding on the floor, and they could see the forms of Ms. McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell.

"What on earth were you thinking?" Ms. McGonagall shouts, staring at Ron and Harry as if it was all their fault. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitories?" Hermione raises her hand up and Ms. McGonagall realizes for the first time that Draco and Hermione had been in the shadows.

"They- they were looking for me." Draco grabs her arm and forces it down, then he stands up, dusting his clothes off. He says defiantly, "I went looking for the troll because I thought I could deal with it on my own. If Harry, Ron, and Hermione hadn't found me, I'd be dead by now. Harry stuck a wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with a club. Hermione was frozen in shock. They didn't have time to come fetch anyone."

Harry and Ron stare at each other in shock. Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin pure-blood, sticking up for them? Hermione stares at him with pride. "Five points will be taken from Slytherin for your foolishness, Draco. Now off you go. You too, Harry, Ron, and Hermione."

They hurry out of the chamber, pausing only once to say thanks to Draco. Hermione gives him a quick hug and then watches him walk away. "Why would he say that? He's a pure-blood!" Harry blurts out and Hermione turns back to them, smiling. "I know, but he's different."

As they climb up the steps to their dormitory an unspoken thought passes between them. Draco Malfoy was now their friend.