Author's note: Hey, everyone! I just want to give everyone a heads up that the next few weeks I may not always update on schedule. I have a lot of final projects, papers and tests to study for, which may interfere with how often I post. I promise this story will be finished, though! Please enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 14

*The day before the first day of Hogwarts*

The entire time he was packing, Draco didn't know what to think. He was so excited to be going to Hogwarts, to finally be able to learn more magic than his parents were willing to teach him, but he also wasn't sure he wanted to leave home. just yet. Also, the Malfoys were expected to act a certain way, be a certain way. He didn't think he was ready to face the entire Wizarding World.

"Draco, do you mind coming downstairs for a few moments?" His mum called from downstairs. "We will meet you in the Drawing Room in ten minutes."

"Of course, Mum! I'll just finish up packing." Draco called back down, trying to figure out what his parents could want to talk about.

Draco was confused. It was dinner time, but his parents asked him to meet in the Drawing Room, somewhere he was certainly not to eat anything other than tea biscuits. He was nervous. He hadn't done anything too bad in the past month and he was going off to Hogwarts tomorrow morning. By the time his parents sat him down and started talking, he was even more confused than before. His parents had raised him to be well-educated, charming, and most importantly, kind. He was told never to be cruel, not unless the person really deserved it. But now, as he was sitting across them at the dinner table, they were telling him that he had to be mean to everyone, especially muggle-borns.

"I don't understand." Draco pleaded. Narcissa glanced over at Lucius, but he was stoic in his convictions. It didn't matter how hard it would be for his son to be cruel; it was a matter of life and death and he needed to follow his orders in order to stay safe, stay alive. He knew it wasn't fair to put his burden on his son's shoulders, but also knew that there was no other way to protect him.

"I know it's hard to understand, but you need to act like you think everyone is below you." Lucius said, trying to not to react to the look on his son's face. He hated seeing the disappointment.

"But I don't!" Draco nearly shouted, standing up. Narcissa raised her brow, not expecting him to feel so strongly.

"Don't raise your voice at your mother." Lucius warned. Draco looked down at his feet, knowing he would be in major trouble if he went against his father.

"I'm sorry, Father." Lucius sighed, moving to sit next to his son.

"It's alright. We know this is hard for you, but we need you to do this, for your mother and I." Draco glanced at his mum and sighed when she just nodded.

"The Dark Lord is going to return." Narcissa said, holding up a hand when her husband began to protest. "I know we agreed not to bring it up, but he needs to know." She turned back to look at Draco. "His followers need to think we are still on his side. There are ears and eyes everywhere in Hogwarts. Do you understand what I am saying, Draco?" Draco nodded, beginning to understand why his parents were so worried about his actions at school.

"Yes. I understand." He hoped that the muggle-borns would be awful people. He didn't want to have to hate someone who is a good person or worse, someone who he would want to be friends with.

"Well, then." Narcissa looked please that it all worked out. Lucius nearly rolled his eyes at her optimism but thought better of it. He had caused enough problems. "How about we have dinner?"

-00000-

Draco was nervous. He wanted to make friends, which he didn't believe would be a problem, but he could hear his parents' words ringing in his ears. After their talk, dinner was awkward and quiet. Even when his parents asked questions, Draco had tried to speed through dinner, so he could be alone to think about what they were asking of him. Shaking away his thoughts, Draco looked around and grinned when he saw the scar, the scar he had been looking for all day. He was ready to start making his network. Who better to start off the network than the Boy-Who-Lived?

After he tried to introduce himself to Potter, he was glad he didn't have to act too differently than he would normally have. Potter was rude, uncultured, and overly defensive of the Weasley spawn. While Potter would've been a great ally, he knew there would be better people he could associate with.

By the time his name was called for the Sorting, Draco had forgotten to be nervous.

"Slytherin!" The hat declared, causing Draco to grin and walk over to the table, where he was greeted as a king. It didn't dawn on him until Blaise sat down, that he had no idea what he would have done if he wouldn't have been put in Slytherin. It would've ruined anything.

"Hey, good to see you, mate." Draco said, holding out his hand to Blaise. While they had seen each other not even a month ago, it was good for those around him to know who he supported. Who supported him. Blaise smirked, understanding what Draco was up to.

"Glad to see you in green, my friend." From his other side, Pansy nudged him slightly, causing him to turn and look at her.

"How are you, Pansy?"

"I've been well, Draco. Glad we all got in the same house." Draco smiled slightly; he too was happy they all ended up together. As they ate, they made small talk; talking about their summer and their thoughts on the classes they would be taking. Draco tried to not be distracted by the bushy-haired girl that he had noticed when they walked in. He had wished she would've ended up in Slytherin. Ended up being pureblood. He sighed. Oh well.

-00000-

Hermione didn't know what to think. She had been packing for a week straight and was double and triple checking her bags this morning, as well as trying to study every book she could get her hands on. She just wanted to make friends and fit in at her new school. Hermione also knew that her parents were worried, but she didn't know how to tell them that this was the best thing for her, that she was finally going to fit in somewhere. Dinner the night before was pretty tense, she could almost feel the tension as they ate.

"Are you sure you're ready to be away from home so long?" Dan asked, while grabbing the salad bowl. Hermione had tried to eat as fast as she could, but she knew that there was no real way of avoiding this conversation.

"Its where I belong, dad." He sighed.

"How do you know that?" Her dad asked. "How do you know that you don't belong here with us?" She could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She wanted to stay with her parents, she did, but she couldn't handle being miserable at school any longer.

"I just want to make some friends, dad." Hermione muttered, trying not to cry. "I just want people to like me. Find people like me." Hermione's mum covered her mouth with her hand, crying not to cry at how miserable her daughter seemed here. She found herself nodding and agreeing to let Hermione go.

"You have to write." She said. "At least once a week. If you ever want to come home, for any reason, you are always welcome. Do you understand?" Hermione nodded vigorously.

The rest of dinner was quiet, but not as tense. By the time Hermione excused herself, it was almost peaceful.

"Hermione, are you ready to go?" Her mum called from downstairs. Emma tried not to show how nervous she was for Hermione to leave, but she knew she wasn't doing a very good job of hiding how she was feeling. She was trying to be supportive, but how could she support her only child leaving home at eleven?

"I'll be down in a minute!" Hermione called, grabbing her trunk and her bag. She took a deep breath. She was ready.

-00000-

Hermione was nervous. After her parents dropped her off at the station, it became painfully obvious that she was not accepted or welcome. Taking a deep breath, Hermione walked over to a young girl in robes with a blue lining.

"Hi, I'm sorry, but do you know how to get to the Hogwarts train?" The girl was taller and was obviously much older. Snottily, she looked down at Hermione. Hermione, holding onto her bag like a life line didn't know what to think.

"Didn't your parents tell you where to go?" Hermione shook her head, hesitantly.

"They never went to Hogwarts." The girl's brow rose as she snorted.

"What? Were they French or something?" Confused, Hermione shook her head. As she began to understand, the girl sneered.

"We don't want your kind here." Hermione, feeling tears coming to her eyes, didn't know what to do. Thankfully, another girl her age came up behind her.

"Honestly, Jones, you would think your mother would have taught you better manners." The girl narrowed her eyes at the newcomer.

"What? Like your parents don't have the same views I do, Greengrass?" She snorted at the accusation and straightened her shoulders.

"The difference between our families is that my family doesn't need to put others down to be the best, dear."

"We are both purebloods. The same." The Greengrass girl snorted causing the girl in blue to bristle.

"Honey, we are no-where near the same. I'm Sacred Twenty-Eight. You have no place in my life." She sneered slightly. "Well, perhaps as a maid. Run along now." As the girl left, with no final words, Greengrass turned to Hermione, who was confused and a little frightened. She was terrified that Professor McGonagall was wrong, that she really wasn't a witch. She didn't know what to think. "I'm sorry about her. She's a little touchy about muggle-borns. What did you say your name was?"

"I didn't." At the look on the girl's face, Hermione continued. "My name's Hermione. What's yours?"

"Daphne. Pleased to meet you."

"What's a muggle-born?" Daphne smirked slightly, but not as meanly as the Jones girl had.

"A person born of two non-magical people. They aren't as… accepted in our community. But you should be fine. Let's get moving." Her answer caused Hermione to have more questions, but Daphne didn't give her many opportunities to get any questions answered. Daphne seemed like a non-nonsense kind of girl anyways. They didn't talk as they walked, and Hermione wanted to ask her about Hogwarts and the kinds of things to expect, but she assumed Daphne wouldn't be up to chat. Once they reached the train, Daphne spun around and said,

"Well, I'm going to leave you here. Good luck this year, but I will warn you, next time we meet I won't be friendly." She warned, adding to Hermione confusion. "I can be seen helping you out a little before we get sorted, but once we are in different houses, I can't be seen with you."

"How do you know we will be in different houses?" Hermione asked, crossing her aroms across her chest. Her question didn't cause the reaction she thought it; Daphne seemed amused that she even asked.

"Have a good trip, Hermione. Good luck." After she finished talking, Daphne spun around and went in the opposite direction. Hermione shook her head, and walked towards the train door, hoping that she would find someone nicer to sit with. After wandering aimlessly, Hermione finally found a compartment that was empty. Sighing in relief, she sat down and put her trunk and, after pulling out a book, she plopped down and began to read.

"Not many people on this train are reading A Midsummer's Night Dream, I'd imagine." A voice said from the compartment door, startling her. Hermione looked up from her book and tried not to scowl at the intrusion.

"May I help you with something?" Hermione asked, trying to be polite. The girl laughed, moving to sit across from Hermione.

"Do you mind if I join you?" The girl asked, even though she had already moved her things into the compartment. "There isn't anywhere left, and besides, some of the people are so rude." At that, Hermione relaxed. Rude was an understatement.

"Of course." The two of them made small conversation, getting to know one another. Hermione and Amelia, as she found out not long after Amelia had sat down, got along wonderfully. After a few minutes of chatting, a boy flew their compartment door open, looking worried.

"Have you seen a toad?" The boy asked hurriedly, his arms moving around. "I've gone and lost him, just as Gran said I would! She's going to be so disappointed. My name's Neville. Would you mind helping me?" The boy, Neville apparently, barely waited for the girls to agree before moving onto the next compartment. Making eye contact with Hermione, Amelia rolled her eyes at his behavior, causing her to laugh. They both got up intent on finding Neville's toad.

-00000-

As they were reaching shore, Hermione glanced around at her class, unsure of what to make of them. Many seemed at ease in the water, but some, like her, looked terrified. As the boats finally stopped, Hermione was curious how on earth she was supposed to get out of the bloody thing. Glancing around, it looked like people were trying to get help from their friends, but unfortunately for Hermione, her only friend was stuck in the boat with her.

"Need some help?" Glancing up, Hermione blushed almost automatically. The person asking her was the cutest boy she had ever seen. He was tall, blond with an adorable face. She smiled and nodded.

"Thank you." After getting her out of the boat, he turned to Amelia and helped her out as well. Sadly, he didn't stick around for more than a couple seconds after Amelia's feet hit the ground.

"He was cute." Amelia said, nudging her. Hermione blushed, unsure of what to say.

"Come on, let's get to the castle." Amelia laughed, but nodded. She didn't want to be late for whatever it was they were going to be doing. Hopefully not fighting any trolls.

-00000-

Hermione didn't know what to make of Gryffindor, but it didn't seem too bad at all. She didn't seem to have much in common with the girls in her house, but everyone seemed relatively nice. She was sad that she and Amelia ended up in different houses; she was alone again.

The boys she had met on the train were in her house as well, but she wasn't very interested in being their friend. It seemed as though they had different priorities. The girls who lived in her dorm weren't the worst she had ever met, but she was disappointed when she met them. She was determined to make the most out of her year.

The rest of her first year went well. She had made new friends and had had the adventure of a lifetime. She didn't want to say she wasn't ready to go home, but she wanted to stay at Hogwarts forever.

"How was your year, sweetheart?" Her mum asked as she hugged her. Hermione was so happy to see her parents.

"It was awesome."

"Anything exciting happen?" Her father asked as they walked towards the car. Hermione smiled, but shook her head.

"No, nothing too exciting. A lot of studying; wizarding exams are hard."

As they walked Hermione caught a flash of blond, perking her interest. She was disappointed that the blond boy— she later learned his name was Draco— had no interest in ever talking to her again. Honestly, it seemed like he hated her, and she couldn't understand what she had done to make him so angry. Hermione pretended that it didn't hurt that he hated her based on her house colors. Hermione liked to pretend that it wasn't her blood that he hated.

-00000-

Author's Note: Hey, guys. Sorry for the short chapter today; I didn't have as much to say as I thought I did. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Because the chapter was so short, I'll give everyone a teaser: Chapter 16 is Draco's final battle. Please review! See you next week.

-Kat