September the 1st 1991
Hermione Granger, 11 years of age soon to be 12, was the first to arrive at platform 9 and 3/4, eager to board the train and start her new adventure.
Hermione had received her letter inviting her to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry just three weeks before, and it was the start of a completely new life. It was customary for witches and wizards born into a magical family to receive a letter inviting them to attend a magic school. These families prepared for that day from the moment the children could walk and talk. Non-magic families are different; they cannot qualify for the unknown, not entirely. Children born into these kinds of families are not aware of their abilities. They may experience a few unexplainable situations throughout their childhood but nothing to confirm it; not until they receive their letters which gives them roughly three weeks to prepare for a whole new world. It can be both daunting and exciting, which was the situation in Hermione's case as she was Muggle-born.
She couldn't believe it when she received her letter inviting her to start school on September the 1st. Once it had finally sunk in, the excitement soon followed. Hermione had purchased every book on and off her list that she could need and read them all before the three weeks were up. There wasn't a chance she would arrive at a new school only half prepared, and she had years of history to catch up on. Hermione sat beside her parents, waiting for the train to pull into the station. Her suitcase was at the ready, and her pet of choice, a tiny ginger kitten that she'd named Crookshanks, was curled up sound asleep in his cage.
The roaring sound of the Hogwarts Express releasing steam as it chugged into the station caused Hermione to stop breathing nearly. She turned to her mum, wide-eyed and pale as the realisation that she was soon going to have to leave them dawned on her; it was such a bittersweet.
"You'll be fine, sweetheart. You've prepared yourself for this, it's exciting! You're going to have so much fun!" Mrs Granger said to her daughter with a smile on her face.
Hermione stood to hug her mum goodbye before turning to her dad, who was slightly less enthusiastic about this new adventure Hermione was about to take off on. Still proud of his daughter, nevertheless, "We will write to you every day if need be, study hard and enjoy yourself," he said with one final squeeze before he finally let her go.
Tears filled her eyes as she nodded, stepping back to grab her suitcase. With one last sigh, Hermione grabbed the handle on her case and made her way to the train, waving to her parents before she went to find a carriage. An advantage of being early meant that she got the pick of her seat. Most, if not all, were still empty as she made her way into one towards the front of the train. Hermione sat at the window with Crookshanks still sleeping under the footwell and took a book out of her suitcase before putting it in the overhead, waiting patiently for someone to join her in the carriage. After around 20 minutes, the train started to get busier. More and more students were outside saying their goodbyes to family members and finding their carriages. Hermione was so engrossed in rereading Hogwarts: A History that she hadn't realised two people had joined her carriage or how long they had been there.
"I heard that the Slytherin common room is in the dungeons, which takes you under the black lake," one of the boys said.
"I heard it's in the forbidden forest, and you can see all of the creatures at night peering in through the window," the other said.
"Don't be stupid, Blaise. The Dark Forest is nowhere near the castle," the first boy responded, after which he noticed Hermione was peering over her book. "So, you finally noticed we are here then," he said to Hermione.
"I'm sorry, I was in a world of my own," she said while blushing and closing her book.
The boy smirked in return, "Figured as much. That's Blaise Zabini, and I'm Draco, Malfoy." Draco introduced them both to her and held out his hand for her to shake. Something told her about how he said his last night, that she was supposed to know who he was.
She obliged and shook his hand, smiling at them both, "I'm Hermione." Blaise shook her hand but eyed her sceptically and didn't say anything.
"We were talking about what the Slytherin common room will probably look like; what do you think?" Draco asked. Curiosity lit up his face as he waited to hear Hermione's theory.
"I hadn't given it much thought, if I'm honest. I tried not to get too attached to any particular house in case I didn't get sorted into it."
"You have a say in the sorting ceremony. We aren't supposed to know that, but my father said that if you don't want to be in the house the hat thinks you should be in, the hat won't force you into it. You think about the one you do want, and it listens. Can you imagine being sorted into Hufflepuff?" He shuddered as he said this, Blaise chuckling alongside him.
Hermione gave a small smile. Although she disagreed, she didn't know what house her heart desired, but she would leave the decision down the hat either way. "There isn't a single Malfoy that wasn't in Slytherin, so it's a done deal. The same goes for Blaise too,"
Hermione nodded, listening to Draco whilst Blaise continued to watch her suspiciously. "Are there ghosts that roam the castle?" Hermione asked Draco, shifting uncomfortably under Blaises eyes, Draco's eyebrows raised in disbelief.
"Of course there are. Haven't you ever seen a ghost before?"
Hermione shook her head, and it finally dawned on her that there was a whole world she didn't know about that she would officially be a part of in less than a few hours.
"What did you say your name was again?" Draco asked her. At that moment, the door for the carriage slid open, and a small round boy stood in the entranceway. Both Draco and Blaise turned their nose up at the boy and watched as he stood panting in the doorway.
"Has anybody seen a toad? I've lost mine," the boy breathed.
Hermione shook her head as Draco and Blaise snickered at him and turned away like he didn't exist.
"I will help you to find it if you like?" Hermione offered the boy, and his face lit up in response. As Hermione got up to leave the carriage, Draco stood up with her.
"Are you coming back?" He asked her.
She nodded with a puzzled expression, leaving the carriage as he slowly sat back down.
"What was that about?" Blaise asked Draco as the carriage door closed.
"What d'you mean? Nothing," Draco responded defensively.
Blaise smirked and took advantage of the embarrassment Draco was feeling, "Does someone have a crush already?" Draco hit Blaise in the arm and picked up Hermione's book, "Don't you think she's a little odd? And she didn't say her last name, which means she's probably a Half-blood," Blaise said.
Draco ignored him and skimmed over the book he held. Hermione had made notes on all pages; she'd studied this book extensively before starting school. Maybe Blaise was right.
Hermione went down from carriage to carriage, asking everyone about the missing toad which nobody had seen. She was beginning to get fed up when she opened the door to a carriage that had two boys still dressed in their ordinary clothes, not like the ones back in her carriage who were already in their school robes. One of the boys held his wand in his hand whilst a rat lay sprawled out across his lap, with its head rummaging around in a box of sweets. He looked up once he noticed Hermione standing at the door.
"Has anyone seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost him," she asked while looking around the room at the mountains of sweets, her eyes landing back on the red-haired boy's wand, "Oh, you're doing magic? Let's see then," she asked.
The boy cleared his throat and held his wand high, "Sunshine daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow," he flicked his wand, and a yellow light shone inside the sweet box, but nothing further happened. Confusion swept over his face as he looked at the other boy beside him.
"Are you sure that's a real spell?' said Hermione, "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice, and it all worked for me. For example." She cleared her throat and positioned herself in front of the boy with glasses. "Oculus reparo," she spoke clearly and flicked her wand. A quick spark of grey smoke shot out of the end, and Harry's glasses were like new. "Holy cricket, you're Harry Potter! I'm Hermione Granger, and you are?" She asked the boy who still held his wand above his rat.
"Ron Weasley."
"Pleasure," she smiled at him and stood up to leave, "You two should get into your robes; I should expect we will be arriving soon." With that, she went and headed back to her carriage. After only spending a few short minutes with them, something about Harry and Ron made her slightly more comfortable than Blaise and Draco, even if Ron did have dirt on his face without realising.
As Hermione entered her carriage, she noticed Blaise was sleeping, and Draco had his head buried deep in her book. He hadn't seen her walking back in and sitting down when she spoke, "Now, who's in a world of their own?" She asked Draco.
He jumped at the sound of her voice and closed the book, "Sorry. I got bored, and the notes are quite interesting. Did you make them all yourself?" he asked whilst passing it back to her.
Hermione nodded as she took it off him, "I like to read. Sometimes I have thoughts or ideas about something I've read, and I don't want to forget them, so I write them down. Plus, I like the idea of my future children being able to read what I was thinking whilst I was on that particular page," She said.
"I like to read too. We have a huge library in the manor, and it's probably my favourite room. It's got hundreds of books, thousands even. What's your favourite book?" Draco hadn't realised that he had probably asked Hermione the only questions she couldn't answer.
"That's a difficult one; I don't feel like I've found my favourite book yet."
"Well, I have plenty of recommendations if ever you need any," as Draco finished his sentence, the train came to a slow halt at the Hogsmeade station for students arriving at Hogwarts.
Worry and excitement immediately swam through Hermione's body. She had only ever seen photos of Hogwarts, but now she would be seeing it for real. Draco woke Blaise by hitting him in the stomach, causing him to wake with a scowl. Hermione shook her head as he did it and grabbed her suitcase, ready to head out onto the platform. The first years took a magical boat ride to the castle, the scenic route to the grounds; Hermione thought it looked magnificent. She sat in a boat along with the boy named Neville, who she met on the train and another who, from what she could gather, was Irish as he spoke about the creatures that were in the lake beneath them.
As they all arrived at the castle, Hagrid accompanied them up a set of stairs where they waited outside a pair of large doors. Everyone excitedly talked amongst themselves about what may be on the other side.
"So it's true then," Draco's voice quietened down the group of students as they turned to see him clearer. "Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts."
"Harry Potter is here?" One student whispered.
"I heard he had a scar across his face," Another whispered.
All the while, Draco was moving to the front of the group to stand in front of Harry.
"This is Crabbe and Goyle," he gestured to the two boys he'd stood with moments ago, "And I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."
Hermione heard him introduce himself once more, his name still not ringing any bells or Harry, it seemed, as he stood with a puzzled expression slashed across his face. As Draco introduced himself, Ron, who stood beside Harry, made a slight choking sound followed by an eye roll, just loud enough for Draco to hear. "Do you think my name is funny? There's no need to ask yours, red hair and hand-me-down robes; you must be a Weasley." Draco hissed and turned his attention back to Harry, "You'll soon learn that some Wizarding families are better than others. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there," He held out his hand for Harry to shake.
Ron's cheeks flushed as he glared after Draco, "I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks," Harry responded.
At that moment, a tall slim woman, who wore a dark emerald green dress, appeared and tapped Draco on the shoulder. He glanced around to look at the professor before he moved back to his original place in the group but not before scowling at Harry as he did.
"My name is Professor McGonagall. Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, and you will be sorted into your houses before you take your seats in the Great Hall. The Sorting is an essential ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its noble history, and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. I shall take you through now," McGonagall finished and led the group of students through the double doors and into the great hall.
As the students walked through the hall towards the front, all faces lit up as they looked up at the enchantments. The ceiling looked like the night sky as floating candles surrounded the room.
"It's not real, you know. It's made to look like the night sky, I read about it in-" Hermione started to tell a girl next to her when she heard someone finish her sentence,
"Hogwarts: A History," she turned to see that the voice belonged to Draco, who was smiling at her as she headed to the front. How could the boy she met on the train be the same boy who spoke to Harry with such disgust towards Ron?
The students gathered around the front of the hall before a stool upon which the famous sorting hat rested. McGonagall stood at the front and gathered everyone around, "Now, before we begin, Professor Dumbledore would like to say a few words," She moved aside. Everybody's eyes shifted to an elderly looking man at the centre of the table, with his long beard tucked into his belt.
"I have a few starts of term notices I wish to announce. The first years, please note that the Dark Forest is strictly forbidden to all students. Also, our caretaker, Mr Filch, has asked me to remind you that the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds for everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death. Thank you," he finished and took his seat once more.
McGonagall turned back to face the group and held up her scroll, "When I call your name, you shall come forth. I will place the sorting hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses... Hermione Granger."
Hermione paled as she made her way up the small steps towards professor McGonagall who held the hat up for her to sit under it. Once she sat down, Professor McGonagall placed the sorting hat on Hermione's head, and she could feel it move instantly.
"Ahhh, right then, hmmm," the hat spoke out. Hermione squirmed beneath it as it moved around on her head, trying to decide on her house, "Gryffindor!" The Gryffindor table erupted with cheers and applause as Hermione hopped off the stool and ran over to join their table. She caught Ron rolling his eyes whilst behind him, Draco stood with a look of disappointment by this result.
"Draco Malfoy," McGonagall called next. He made his way through the group up to the top of the stairs and sat on the stool.
Before the hat had even touched Draco's head, it shouted, "Slytherin!" The Slytherin table erupted with cheers as a few members stood up to clap.
"Ronald Weasley," Ron slowly made his way to the stool, his nervousness showing on his face.
"Ah! Another Weasley. I know just what to do with you... Gryffindor!" The hat shouted, the Gryffindor table clapped and cheered, a few more students with features that resembled Ron's stood up to pat him on his back as he sat down at the table.
"Harry Potter," McGonagall spoke, and the entire hall, teachers and all went silent. Harry made his way up to the front, and he could feel all eyes burning into him as he sat down with McGonagall placing the hat on his head.
"Hmm, difficult, very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see, not a bad mind either and talent! Oh yes, and a thirst to prove yourself. But where to put you?" The hat spoke whilst Harry mumbled the words, not Slytherin repeatedly. The sorting hat continued, "Not Slytherin ay? But are you sure? You could be great, you know. It's all here, in your head, and Slytherin could help you on your way to greatness. There is no doubt about that. No?.." Harry continued to whisper to himself as the hat still struggled to choose, "No? Well.. better be... Gryffindor!"
The entire table stood up, clapping and cheering as Harry made his way over to take his place next to Hermione. Once the sorting ceremony was complete, Dumbledore stood up and called the feast to an official start. Plates upon plates of food from all around the world appeared in front of everyone. Ron did not hesitate to get stuck into the meal. Before Hermione could process the amount of food, Ron already had a plate and mouth full.
"Harry, show us your scar," A red-haired boy called over.
"Ignore Fred. He's one of my annoying brothers," Ron said to Harry through a mouth full of chicken.
"Annoying perhaps, but handsome? Most definitely," Fred's identical twin brother added.
"And that's George."
Harry laughed at the boys and pulled back his hair slightly to show his scar to the twins.
"Wicked," they said in unison.
"Does it hurt?" Hermione asked Harry, who shook his head in response.
Everybody continued to eat their meals and get to know their new housemates. Hermione glanced around the room at the other house tables and spotted Draco on the Slytherin table, who was looking at her, his eyes averted the second she noticed.
"Ron?" He made a grunting noise in response to her but gave no other indication that he was listening. "Draco Malfoy, why was he so horrible to you? Do you know him?" She asked.
Ron swallowed what was in his mouth and cleared his throat before he spoke. "Our dads work together at the Ministry. He's not a very nice person, from the sounds of things. The whole Malfoy family are arseholes, if I'm honest. All a bunch of Pureblood extremists. Not one of them turned out okay. Draco will be the same. There isn't a witch or Wizard that turned bad that wasn't in Slytherin," he added before picking up some more food.
Hermione glanced over at Draco again and observed him briefly as he watched his friends, Crab and Goyle, who were shovelling more food into their mouths than Ron. After the feast finished, the prefects guided the first years of their houses back to the common rooms.
The Gryffindor common room was comfortably small. Situated in the centre lay a lit fire, overflowing bookshelves in alcoves on either side, various kinds of light brown seats scattered around the room, with walls coated in a deep shade of red and flashes of gold throughout. Hermione smiled as she approved of the common room she would call home for the next seven years.
~X~
After the initial excitement of the Gryffindors student's new common room, the students made their way to their dorm rooms. The first thing Hermione wanted to do when she spotted that her belongings were already beside a bed was to unpack her books and set them up on her nightstand. When she reached her bed, she noticed a book already on the table, she assumed, was something that everybody received on their first day, a guide to the school for Muggleborns perhaps. After glancing around, she realised this wasn't the case as she was the only one with a book beside her bed.
The exterior of the book was a deep blood red colour. There were no pictures or writing, no title, just a fabric cover. Hermione opened the book with intrigue and found a little envelope inside that read 'First recommendation, enjoy.' Inside the envelope, she found a single Gallion with nothing further. She turned the book's first page and read the title 'Darkness Falls', with no indication to the author. Hermione put down the book and coin before she became too drawn in by her curiosity and continued to unpack the rest of her things.
~X~
The Slytherin common room was quite the opposite of Gryffindor's. The walls stood tall with shades of emerald painted across the room and silver drapes hanging over them. The sofas dotted around were black leather and cold, which seemed to be the running theme of the Slytherin common room. After viewing the common room, the first years made their way to the dorms, where they found their belongings. Less eager to unpack than the Gryffindor's, most of them returned to the common room once the tour was over.
"How are you still eating?" Blaise asked Goyle, who shrugged whilst he stuffed more cake into his mouth.
Draco joined the group a few moments later, and almost as if out of instinct, Crabbe moved out of his seat to stand up and let Draco sit down.
"Where've you been?" Blaise asked Draco.
"I had something to do, never you mind."
Blaise huffed at his response and turned to face the rest of the group to make introductions for Draco, "Draco, this is Daphne Greengrass. Obviously, you remember Theo, and finally, I'm not sure if you're properly acquainted with Pansy. Guys, this is Draco Malfoy," he finished.
"Draco Malfoy, as I live and breath. Pansy Parkinson, my father has told me lots about you," Pansy spoke first, not a hint of shyness emitted from her. She was very outgoing and cared little for what others thought about her; that much was clear.
"I imagine he has. Rufus Parkinson, I assume?" He asked, gaining a nod from her. "Nice to finally meet you."
"Agreed. Father speaks very highly of your family. He's even mentioned once or twice about a family agreement regarding our future." Pansy drawled, her eyes never leaving Draco's as she spoke.
"Is that so?" Draco questioned. He'd often heard of Pureblood families arranging marriages for their children. He'd even overheard his father once or twice mention the Parkinsons names about that very topic, but he never paid much attention to it.
The rest of the group discussed what lessons were going to be like having to share with other houses as Draco's mind wandered to the book he'd sent to Hermione, curious as to whether or not she was reading it or if she had even noticed it was there. A small smile appeared on his face when he imagined that she probably completely bypassed it when unpacking her other books, too wrapped up in her excitement.
~X~
Hermione finished unpacking and becoming accustomed to her new room. Turning towards her bed, she climbed up and tucked herself under the sheets. After over an hour of excitement in the girl's dormitory, everyone quieted down, mentally preparing for tomorrow's lessons. Hermione blew out the candle beside her and snuggled down beneath the blanket. After a moment, her eyes adjusted to the darkroom, and she found herself looking at the book on her bedside table. Hermione felt her eyes becoming heavy. Just before she drifted off completely, she wondered how Draco had managed to sneak the book into her room.