Hermione sighed as she stepped on Platform nine and three quarters. It wasn't the fact that she wasn't looking
forwards to her last year at Hogwarts, cause she was, especially when she discovered she was made Head Girl.
It was mostly the fact that she would have no one to speak to. The Golden Trio wsn't a Trio any more as over the summer
it was turned into a Duo, or if you wanted to be more technical about it a quartet.
She had only received one owl all summer and that was from Ron saying how he had started to go out with Luna Lovegood
and Harry had started to date Ginny. He mentioned she could still come for the summer but she never brought herself to do
so. She never even wrote a reply back to him. She heard a soft meow and looked at the cage in her hand."Almost
Crookshanks." She promised her cat as she went to find herself a compartment.
Finding an empty compartment she put her things up in the overhead part and let her cat out of the bag.
"I'll be back." She said shutting the door. She had intentions of locating her two so-called best friends in hope they
would speak to her.
Walking down the long corridor and glancing in different rooms she ahd yet to locate her friends. "Hermione?" She
heard someone say her name and turned around to see a fellow Gryffindor.
"Hello Neville."
He smiled at her. "Where are you going?"
"Just off to find Ron and Harry." She told him.
"Oh their about three compartments done." He told her. "I think Ginny and Luna are in with them as well."
"Thanks Neville." She said walking away as he went back into his compartment he was sharing with Dean and Seamus.
She was about to knock on the compartment when she heard giggling from the one next to it. "They were snogging?"
"Full out snogging."
She recognized the two voices as Parvati and Lavender. I shouldn't be listening to this, she thought. "And Hermione
wasn't in the compartment?"
"No I heard from Ginny that she didn't even show up to the Burrow." Lavender snickered. "Probably didn't want to be
a fifth wheel."
"She should be used to it though. I mean who would want to be friends with a bushy-haired bookworm in the first
place. I mean notice how they always hung out with her the most when we had huge assignments or a test coming up." Parvati
added.
Hermione could feel the tears well up in her eyes. She slowly backed up and turned around making her way to her
compartment. Tears threatening to spill down her face at any moment and she refused to let anyone see them. Quickening her
pace she almost knocked into a couple of fifth year students just standing in the hall and hurried into her compartment
and shut the door behind her letting her tears fall freely as she shut her eyes.
"Well what do we have here?" A voice asked as she opened her eyes to see Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zambini in her
compartment. Crookshanks was sitting comfortably on Zambini's lap being stroked. "Get out."
"Would love to Granger but seeing how all the other compartments are full we found yours." Malfoy said with a smirk.
"I am not sharing the same compartment as you two so get out." She said angrily.
"We won't try to hex you or anything you know. Us Heads have to ride together anyways." Zambini said as he saw
Granger's face full of shock. "Thats right I'm Head Boy."
Hermione cautiously took a seat across from the two boys. "Why can't you sit with Crabbe and Goyle?"
"Mostly because Pansy and Millicent had decided to invade the compartment and wouldn't let us be." Malfoy told her.
"Why aren't you with Potter and Weasley?"
Hermione felt her tears starting up and furiously blinked them away. "That's none of your business." Sensing his
owner was distressed Crookshanks jumped from the boys lap over to hers. Settling down and falling asleep.
"Smart cat you have there." Zambini said.
"Anything from the cart dearies?" A voice from the door asked. Hermione watched as Zambini and Malfoy each got
themselves some goodies as the witch turned to her. "How about you dear?"
"No thank you." She said softly as the witch nodded shutting the door to go on.
"So planning on telling us why you were crying and why you're not with your friends?" Zambini asked biting the head
off of as chocolate frog.
Hermione scuffed. "What friends?"
"You mean the 'Golden Trio' broke up?" Malfoy asked with interest shuddering ever so slightly under Hermione's cold
glare.
"It turned into a quartet with me out."
"So they actually found themselves girlfriends, but why would that leave you out?"
"Oh so you haven't heard the rumors?" Hermione asked coldly. "I only have friends who need me for my intelligence.
Not like you two would know anything about that. Everyone worships you."
"Exactly the right words Granger. Worships us. In their eyes we're God. They'd rather be behind us then against us."
"Our lives aren't all that perfect Hermione." Zambini said.
Hermione glanced up at him. "What did you call me?"
"Hermione. That is your name right?"
"Yes but..."
"If we're going to be sharing the same common room we might as well be on friendly terms right?" He asked holding
out his right hand. "Blaise Zambini."
Hermione studied his hand for a second before taking it. "Hermione Granger." She said as they shook. She looked to
her left and saw Malfoy's hand out. "Draco Malfoy."
"Are you sure you want to touch a 'Mudblood' Malfoy?"
"I've changed Gra... Hermione. I'm not like my father." He said truthfully. He wasn't a thing like his father since
Lucius got sent to Azkaban just last year. his mother and him got along so much better lately.
"Harry have you seen Hermione yet?" Ron asked as he stopped snogging with Luna.
Harry and Ginny pulled apart as he shook his head. "No, you think she made it?"
"Of course she did." Ginny said taking the rubberband off of her wrist and pulled her long red hair back with it.
"She's always on time. She's probably just in another compartment that's all."
"I do hope she is well. You have not heard from her all summer." Luna stated.
"True, maybe she never got my letter." Ron said slightly worried as he stood up. "I'm going to look for her."
"I'll come with you." Harry said adjusting his glasses.
"No it's okay. I'll be back soon." He said giving Luna a peck on the cheek and left the compartment. He noticed
Lavender and Parvati in the compartment next to them but decided against asking those two girls. A door opened as Seamus
stepped out. "Oi Seamus.
"Hello Ron. How was your summer?"
"Excellent."
"That's good."
Neville stuck his head out. "Hello Ron has Hermione found you yet?"
"She was looking for us?" He asked.
Neville nodded. "About ten minutes ago. I told her what compartment you and Harry were in, but maybe she got
distracted."
"Do you knwo where she is?"
Neville shook his head but pointed down the corridor of the train. "She did come from that direction though."
"Thanks." Ron said heading that way.
"Want one?" Blaise asked offering Hermione a cauldron cake.
"No it's okay." She said shaking her head.
"I didn't poison it."
"I know." She said yawning lightly. "Sorry."
"Get some sleep, we'll wake you before we get there. Give you enough time to put your robes on."
"Thanks." She said adjusting herself to lay on the seat as Crookshanks moved with her and laid on her side. Blaise
took off his jacket he wore and rolled it in a ball. "Place this under your head."
Hermione lifted her head as Blaise used his jacket as a pillow. "Thanks Blaise." She said closing her eyes.
Draco and Blaise watched as Hermione quickly drifted to sleep. "Well now what?" Draco asked.
"We should probably get some rest too."
"That's not what I meant and you know it." He said coldly.
Blaise ran his fingers through his black hair allowing his blue eyes to look at the sleeping Gryffindor. "I don't
know. She just seems so different when she's not with those idiots."
"Maybe cause she's the brains of the group."
"I know that and everyone knows that Draco. It's just a real shame she was placed in Gryffindor."
"Yea." Draco said nodding in agreement.
Ron sighed as he tried another compartment only to find giggling Hufflepuff girls. "One more try and then I give
up." He said as he reached and slid the door open. His blue eyes widened at his discovery as he quickly took out his
wand. "Malfoy!"
Draco looked up and glared at the intruder. "What do you want Weasel?"
"What did you do to her?" He asked seeing Hermione what looked like she was sleeping but it could have been
anything.
"Nothing she's sleeping and if you wake her up I'll hex you into oblivion." Blaise said getting to his feet and had
his wand ready.
"You did something, a.. a spell or somethin to her didn't you?"
"Would we stoop so low?" Draco asked taking out his wand as well.
"Yes." The red head hissed at at the two Slytherins.
"Well what do you know lions can his and I just thought it was for snakes." Draco smirked.
"Leave or I'll be forced to remove points."
"You can't."
Blaise took out his pin from his jeans pocket. "What was that?"
Ron's eyes widened. There was no way that a Slytherin such as Blaise Zambini was Head Bopy. It had to be some
horrible and terrible mistake. "We're serious Weasel go now. you can see your prescious Hermione at the Welcoming Feast."
Draco said moving forwards. "And if you come back here with Potty or any of your other Gryffindork friends you'll be
very sorry."
Ron terrified of what they may do to Hermione slowly backed away as Blaise gave him one last smirk and slammed
the door.
A/N: Okay I know that Draco and Blaise are way out of character but it works for my story :-)
forwards to her last year at Hogwarts, cause she was, especially when she discovered she was made Head Girl.
It was mostly the fact that she would have no one to speak to. The Golden Trio wsn't a Trio any more as over the summer
it was turned into a Duo, or if you wanted to be more technical about it a quartet.
She had only received one owl all summer and that was from Ron saying how he had started to go out with Luna Lovegood
and Harry had started to date Ginny. He mentioned she could still come for the summer but she never brought herself to do
so. She never even wrote a reply back to him. She heard a soft meow and looked at the cage in her hand."Almost
Crookshanks." She promised her cat as she went to find herself a compartment.
Finding an empty compartment she put her things up in the overhead part and let her cat out of the bag.
"I'll be back." She said shutting the door. She had intentions of locating her two so-called best friends in hope they
would speak to her.
Walking down the long corridor and glancing in different rooms she ahd yet to locate her friends. "Hermione?" She
heard someone say her name and turned around to see a fellow Gryffindor.
"Hello Neville."
He smiled at her. "Where are you going?"
"Just off to find Ron and Harry." She told him.
"Oh their about three compartments done." He told her. "I think Ginny and Luna are in with them as well."
"Thanks Neville." She said walking away as he went back into his compartment he was sharing with Dean and Seamus.
She was about to knock on the compartment when she heard giggling from the one next to it. "They were snogging?"
"Full out snogging."
She recognized the two voices as Parvati and Lavender. I shouldn't be listening to this, she thought. "And Hermione
wasn't in the compartment?"
"No I heard from Ginny that she didn't even show up to the Burrow." Lavender snickered. "Probably didn't want to be
a fifth wheel."
"She should be used to it though. I mean who would want to be friends with a bushy-haired bookworm in the first
place. I mean notice how they always hung out with her the most when we had huge assignments or a test coming up." Parvati
added.
Hermione could feel the tears well up in her eyes. She slowly backed up and turned around making her way to her
compartment. Tears threatening to spill down her face at any moment and she refused to let anyone see them. Quickening her
pace she almost knocked into a couple of fifth year students just standing in the hall and hurried into her compartment
and shut the door behind her letting her tears fall freely as she shut her eyes.
"Well what do we have here?" A voice asked as she opened her eyes to see Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zambini in her
compartment. Crookshanks was sitting comfortably on Zambini's lap being stroked. "Get out."
"Would love to Granger but seeing how all the other compartments are full we found yours." Malfoy said with a smirk.
"I am not sharing the same compartment as you two so get out." She said angrily.
"We won't try to hex you or anything you know. Us Heads have to ride together anyways." Zambini said as he saw
Granger's face full of shock. "Thats right I'm Head Boy."
Hermione cautiously took a seat across from the two boys. "Why can't you sit with Crabbe and Goyle?"
"Mostly because Pansy and Millicent had decided to invade the compartment and wouldn't let us be." Malfoy told her.
"Why aren't you with Potter and Weasley?"
Hermione felt her tears starting up and furiously blinked them away. "That's none of your business." Sensing his
owner was distressed Crookshanks jumped from the boys lap over to hers. Settling down and falling asleep.
"Smart cat you have there." Zambini said.
"Anything from the cart dearies?" A voice from the door asked. Hermione watched as Zambini and Malfoy each got
themselves some goodies as the witch turned to her. "How about you dear?"
"No thank you." She said softly as the witch nodded shutting the door to go on.
"So planning on telling us why you were crying and why you're not with your friends?" Zambini asked biting the head
off of as chocolate frog.
Hermione scuffed. "What friends?"
"You mean the 'Golden Trio' broke up?" Malfoy asked with interest shuddering ever so slightly under Hermione's cold
glare.
"It turned into a quartet with me out."
"So they actually found themselves girlfriends, but why would that leave you out?"
"Oh so you haven't heard the rumors?" Hermione asked coldly. "I only have friends who need me for my intelligence.
Not like you two would know anything about that. Everyone worships you."
"Exactly the right words Granger. Worships us. In their eyes we're God. They'd rather be behind us then against us."
"Our lives aren't all that perfect Hermione." Zambini said.
Hermione glanced up at him. "What did you call me?"
"Hermione. That is your name right?"
"Yes but..."
"If we're going to be sharing the same common room we might as well be on friendly terms right?" He asked holding
out his right hand. "Blaise Zambini."
Hermione studied his hand for a second before taking it. "Hermione Granger." She said as they shook. She looked to
her left and saw Malfoy's hand out. "Draco Malfoy."
"Are you sure you want to touch a 'Mudblood' Malfoy?"
"I've changed Gra... Hermione. I'm not like my father." He said truthfully. He wasn't a thing like his father since
Lucius got sent to Azkaban just last year. his mother and him got along so much better lately.
"Harry have you seen Hermione yet?" Ron asked as he stopped snogging with Luna.
Harry and Ginny pulled apart as he shook his head. "No, you think she made it?"
"Of course she did." Ginny said taking the rubberband off of her wrist and pulled her long red hair back with it.
"She's always on time. She's probably just in another compartment that's all."
"I do hope she is well. You have not heard from her all summer." Luna stated.
"True, maybe she never got my letter." Ron said slightly worried as he stood up. "I'm going to look for her."
"I'll come with you." Harry said adjusting his glasses.
"No it's okay. I'll be back soon." He said giving Luna a peck on the cheek and left the compartment. He noticed
Lavender and Parvati in the compartment next to them but decided against asking those two girls. A door opened as Seamus
stepped out. "Oi Seamus.
"Hello Ron. How was your summer?"
"Excellent."
"That's good."
Neville stuck his head out. "Hello Ron has Hermione found you yet?"
"She was looking for us?" He asked.
Neville nodded. "About ten minutes ago. I told her what compartment you and Harry were in, but maybe she got
distracted."
"Do you knwo where she is?"
Neville shook his head but pointed down the corridor of the train. "She did come from that direction though."
"Thanks." Ron said heading that way.
"Want one?" Blaise asked offering Hermione a cauldron cake.
"No it's okay." She said shaking her head.
"I didn't poison it."
"I know." She said yawning lightly. "Sorry."
"Get some sleep, we'll wake you before we get there. Give you enough time to put your robes on."
"Thanks." She said adjusting herself to lay on the seat as Crookshanks moved with her and laid on her side. Blaise
took off his jacket he wore and rolled it in a ball. "Place this under your head."
Hermione lifted her head as Blaise used his jacket as a pillow. "Thanks Blaise." She said closing her eyes.
Draco and Blaise watched as Hermione quickly drifted to sleep. "Well now what?" Draco asked.
"We should probably get some rest too."
"That's not what I meant and you know it." He said coldly.
Blaise ran his fingers through his black hair allowing his blue eyes to look at the sleeping Gryffindor. "I don't
know. She just seems so different when she's not with those idiots."
"Maybe cause she's the brains of the group."
"I know that and everyone knows that Draco. It's just a real shame she was placed in Gryffindor."
"Yea." Draco said nodding in agreement.
Ron sighed as he tried another compartment only to find giggling Hufflepuff girls. "One more try and then I give
up." He said as he reached and slid the door open. His blue eyes widened at his discovery as he quickly took out his
wand. "Malfoy!"
Draco looked up and glared at the intruder. "What do you want Weasel?"
"What did you do to her?" He asked seeing Hermione what looked like she was sleeping but it could have been
anything.
"Nothing she's sleeping and if you wake her up I'll hex you into oblivion." Blaise said getting to his feet and had
his wand ready.
"You did something, a.. a spell or somethin to her didn't you?"
"Would we stoop so low?" Draco asked taking out his wand as well.
"Yes." The red head hissed at at the two Slytherins.
"Well what do you know lions can his and I just thought it was for snakes." Draco smirked.
"Leave or I'll be forced to remove points."
"You can't."
Blaise took out his pin from his jeans pocket. "What was that?"
Ron's eyes widened. There was no way that a Slytherin such as Blaise Zambini was Head Bopy. It had to be some
horrible and terrible mistake. "We're serious Weasel go now. you can see your prescious Hermione at the Welcoming Feast."
Draco said moving forwards. "And if you come back here with Potty or any of your other Gryffindork friends you'll be
very sorry."
Ron terrified of what they may do to Hermione slowly backed away as Blaise gave him one last smirk and slammed
the door.
A/N: Okay I know that Draco and Blaise are way out of character but it works for my story :-)