AN: As i promised... Also, a wee little note.. All this is NOT post OotP... The events in the book do not apply to this fanfic... jsut a little note i needed to put in.

Her Shadow

Hermione sat on the Hogwarts express, excited to start her sixth year of learning magic. She hadnt seen her friends all summer, though the occasionally sent owls. What she had learned from those owls was that Harry Potter, one of her best friends, had started dating Ginny Weasley, her best friend Ron's little sister.

Hermiones gaze strayed to the window. She watched the bustling parents and students saying their goodbyes. Friends were greeting eachother and talking of their long summer apart. She sighed, it looked like the Weasleys hadn't arrived yet. Harry was supposed to be with them, or so he told her in the owl she got a few days ago. Tearing her gaze from the window she went over to Crookshanks, her big, orange feline friend. The cat looked up at her through the carrier, and meowed huskily.

"I know, I know Crookshanks. Im letting you out right now." With a click the door swung open, and the orange fluff ball strutted out, sniffing along the way. Hermione, started petting her cat, and scratching behind his ears. This cat seemed more dog at times than anything else. The cat looked up at her, blinking a morse-code type code at her, saying thank you.

Hermione smiled at the cat, when she heard a familliar laughter in the hall. It sounded like her three best friends, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and his little sister, Ginny Weasley. Hermione poked her head out the door, and saw the three of them, jsut as she suspected. Ron was leaning against the wall, while Harry and Ginny had their backs to her. She caught some of their conversation.

"Yeah, mate, that girl is weird." Ron said, with a slight grin plastered to his face. He started Mimicking a girl. "Ron? Why havent you written me back? Ive sent you a MILLLION letters! Talk to me Ron! We agreed to stay friends even though we arent dating anymore! Why did you break up with me Ron?" The girl he was mimicking sounded frantic, and a bit obsessed. But Hermione knew who he was mimicking, and she wasnt very happy about it.

"Now, Ron, mate, I dont think Hermione sent you a million Letters." Harry said, which relieved hermione that he was going to stand up for her. "It was mroe like five million letters." Ron and Ginny both began to crack up. Ginny then snaked her hand into harrys, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Wh did you guys even start hanging out with her in the first place?" Ginny asked.

"Pity," Ron told her. "No one likes her because shes too much of a know-it-all. We only let her hang around us for homework."

"True mate," Harry nodded. Hermione felt really hurt. Her best friends, all saying this about her? Why? How could they be so cruel? "I think we've had her around for long enough."

Ginny and Ron both turned to look at Harry with great surprise. "I guess your right. She does get more annoying by the year. Too uptight about grades." The train's whistle blew and gave a sharp tug as it started to leave the station. "We better find Hermione, she'll start to wonder."

Herrmione pulled her head back into the compartment, and shrank into the corner. A million things were speeding through her mind, all at once. Crookshanks jumped up on to her lap, and she began to absentmindedly pet him. The three other gryffindors stumbled intot he compartment, all wearing bright smiles.

"Hermione!" Harry said, looking happy. In hermiones mind she knew it was all an act. "We've missed you all summer! Its so good to see you again!" He said walking towards her.

"How was your summer?" Ron said, he too was looking happy, but also a bit downcast as well. 'At least he has a conscience,' hermione thought.

"Long, boring, the usual." She said, attempting to smile, which was hard after hearing them saying they never really liked her to be their friend. "What about you three? Did you all have fun at the burrow?"

"Yeah!" Harry said, sitting across from Hermione. "We got loads of quidditch practice in. As you know, Im the captain, and we got our tatics down. Now just to tell the rest of the team." Ginny then sat next to him, and once more snaked her hand into his, and rested her head on this shoulder.

Ron sat next to her, and reached into her lap to pet the orange puff. Crookshanks lifted his head and hissed at Ron begore he could touch him. Ron's hand snapped back as if the cat actually bit him, then turned his worried gaze from the cat to Hermione, then Harry.

"Whats up with him? Has he gone mad?" Ron said said. Usually the cat was quite keen to Rons touch, but Hermione knew why. Crookshanks was protective of her, and she knew that the cat knew what the other three were planning.

"You know he doesnt like being on the train. Its too cramped up for him." She said, going quiet while the other three chatted about their summer and the up coming quidditch season. Hermione always took talk of quidditch as a hint for her to zoom her attention out of the conversation.

She was friendless now. Well, not totally friendless, she had Crookshanks but that wasnt the same. What was she going to do? 'Just get through the year, and focus on your school work.' she told her self. She heard the door open, and looked up to meet the cold blue eyes of Draco Malfoy.

"Well, well, well, isnt it our favorite Weasels, Potty, and Mudblood?" His voice was cold and hard, like his gaze. A small smirk was playing on lips lips, as his lackies, Crabbe and Goyle, laugh stupidly.

"Sod off, Malfoy. Really, cant you think of something else? You've used those for how long now?" Hermione shot back at him.

"Geeze," his smirk grew bigger, and that mischeiveous look in his eyes, "Dont throw your purse at me!"

Harry, Ron, and Ginny all tried to suppress their laughter, but werent very successful with it. Hermiones gaze flew to the three of them, hurt clearly spelled in her eyes. Why did they want to take her down so baddly? Why would they team up with their enemy, just to hurt her? How could they be so cruel to her, after 5 years of undying friendship on her part.

She stood up, holding her head high to keep what respect she had. She held Crookshanks, in one hhand, and lugged her trunk out of the compartment. Malfoy and his goons looking form the other three to her in disbielf. Had they tore the Golden Trio apart? Malfoy quickly caught himself and smirked.

The trio sat and watched Hermione get up, giving them all dirty looks. But they did have to admit, she would go down with her pride. Crookshanks looked over her shoulder, and for all a cat could give, a dirty look also.

AN: You know somethings wrong when you get a dirty look from a cat... heh heh.. its a joke.. laugh with me! Okay, as i said, once i posted the first chapter/proluoge thingy, i would start typing this. Alas! A day latter you get your chapter! As a said before, the fith book's events dont apply to this, otherwise would Harry blow Hermione off? Exactly what i thought... Okay!! Now tell me waht you think!!

Also, i still havent found my microsoft office software disk thingy.. so i know that this may have some problems.. and if you would be so kind as to ignore them, i would be very happy. No need to point out things, for i know already! Thank you!!

CornBread