Disclaimer: mmm...gummy bears...I mean. I don't own HP. If I did, I'd make silly sexiful pictures of harry potter and draco malfoy. Separate oO Sorry, not into the HPxDM slash...In fact, most of the stuff on the HP fanfic section scares me greatly, but I'm starting to get used to it. It'll only be a matter of time before I become...gasp ONE OF YOU! haha.

is severely beaten by slash fans twitches

Ron's POV….

I've never really taken a liking to girls before, at least not seriously, and never upon first sight. I personally don't believe in that hodge-podge, and I get laughed at my brothers a lot for that. But when I saw that girl, I swear I felt a tug at my heart somewhere, and great wizard, it left me breathless. Thank goodness I let my hair grow long enough to hide my ears, or else she would've seen them bloom a firey shade of red.

She looked a bit shy and unsure of herself, maybe standing on a bit of uneven flooring too. Scanning the room nervously, she found an oasis of confidence in…Harry?

Running like a curly haired puppy, she leapt into his dumbfounded arms. I had better not be the only one there with the phrase, "what on EARTH?" plastered all about my brain. Had I…missed something?

And why…why did I feel "hate" for Harry?

It seems like such a little thing now that I think about it, but I was boiling mad at the time. What was so bloody special about Harry Potter anyway? Well, I suppose that's easy enough: he's talented, famous, friendly, and a wonderful person inside and out. And…that's exactly why I hated him.

I wonder…whether if I were born with a scar on my head and a bank of galleons waiting for me….whether a girl like Saralyne Granger would someday save me her attentions too.

WAIT.

GRANGER?

Oh dear, this is SO very awkward…

I had my checklist in my pocket too, that I kept on glancing at, much like an obsessive compulsive. I had my designer summer robes (dear god, they were expensive), my other winter set packed in my new suede suit case, my books, my wand, my (insert cat's name), and Lapis Lazuli on-the-go make up kit. I fumbled for a compact mirror and looked around to make sure no one caught me gazing shamelessly at myself. Whenever I see girls looking at themselves in their compacts, it always gives off the impression that the girl is absolutely full of herself. A girl like ME, pitiful ol' Hermoine, poking at her cheeks in a mirror would be most definitely a sorry site indeed. So I huddled off in a corner and glanced curtly at my reflection.

I gasped silently. That face still gives me the shivers every time I look at it. Hermione Granger…no one would recognize you! Yes…I gave the mirror one last grim stare before I tapped it shut. I guess…I'm still the bushy old nerd of a girl to them…they wouldn't even believe me if I told them the truth…would they?

I stuffed my things back into my bag and wheeled my suitcase behind me as I approached the train. Everywhere I looked, I saw eyes, like knives, stabbing and impaling me with their stares. It took more energy than I expected to make it all the way to the luggage boxcar. Taking my change of robes with me onto the train, I walked quicker in hopes of finding a place where I wouldn't have to deal with so many stares…it was frighteningly nerve-wracking.

My foot finally touched the rusted surface of the train and I exhaled in relief. I made it this far…a small millimeter closer to finished the school year. It was still SOMETHING…

I blinked. Without further thinking, my body managed to auto-pilot itself right in front of the Griffindor boxcar and before I could stop myself I twisted the knob and opened the door. It smelled beautifully welcoming, the hint of cinnamon and maple wood that reminded me so much of Hogwarts. Expecting a smile or a wave, I was justly shocked at the silence that enclosed me. For a moment, I'd seriously considered being in the wrong boxcar.

Belittled by the silence, incoherent mumbles bubbled from my mouth. "Oh, uh, sorry…I think, I think I'm in the wrong—"

A tiny glint tugged at the corner of my eye as I shakily looked about the room. Who could mistake those horrendously misshapen glasses covering those cool foresty eyes? I almost melted with the joy of recognition. This was Griffindor, and this was where I belonged. I pummeled myself toward Harry and, to my own surprise, gave him an astoundingly friendly hug. I was perhaps, I lot happier than I thought I was…

Under my arms, Harry stiffened, his hands hovering at my sides quivering. My joy evaporated. How could I forget…no one knows me here, Hermione Granger is no more. I faltered and gathered myself together and pulled away from a statue-like Harry Potter. He stared back at me with glazed eyes. It scared me really…more than the brutal stares of everyone else that I'd passed today. Perhaps because he'd never looked at me like that before; I couldn't quite pin it down, but there was something in that shade of green that made me want to look down at the floor.

Recovering and putting on a trying smile, "Sorry, I mistook you for someone else." That's right, this time I would start out new. I would start out like the first fresh sprout of spring, I wouldn't be Hermione any more.

"I'm—"

But, oh dear…who was I supposed to be then? Curses, I'm terrible at improvisation. I bit my lip.

"Saralyne…Granger" Aw fizzlebang, I just couldn't think of a graceful last name. Perhaps…no, maybe this is better. I can explain the absence of "Hermione" better with the same last name. A sister perhaps? Oh no, that wouldn't make much sense would it…a cousin! A cousin would right and do the trick! Oh, I'll sort it all out later, but I felt a lot better about myself.

I held out a hand of friendship ironically, to my 6-year long companion, who stared at me blankly with that same awfully spine tingling stare. My hand wavered in the air as I fought the urge to cover my face with something. I swear, he must have been reading my mind with that deep unblinking pair of eyes…

A pale snow-hued hand slid unnoticed into mine and curled its icy cold fingers around my hand. I inhaled sharply and found myself staring directly into my most despised enemy of all: Draco Malfoy. His name was as slick as the oil he used to sleek his hair back. I grinned snakily at me from the corner of his mouth and I nearly screamed. He looked no different than a lizard looking sideways at his trapped and helpless prey, cool, distinct, and utterly terrifying.

Even HE glared and grinned at me with in same disturbing way as Harry, except well, being Draco Malfoy, I found his smiles much more threatening. Was he trying to play another stupid joke on me? Where was that infamous Malfoy smirk? God, I hated that smirk, it made you feel like you were being squished underneath his shoe, along with the rest of the muggle world. However, under that predator-like gaze, I couldn't sum up any strength at all, not even enough to sustain my fake smile.

All I could feel was the blood pumping inside my head and the iciness radiating from his palm. My mind was growing cloudy now and I stopped thinking entirely. Swiping my hand away, I mumbled my apologies, and ran out of the boxcar, forgetting to wave goodbye to Ron and Harry.

What on EARTH was Draco Malfoy doing? Curse that boy to the underworld, but I swore that was the first time he was actually nice to me. I squeezed and slapped at my cheeks. NO WAY was he nice intentionally! If I told him I was Hermione, I swear he would've just up and puked on my shoes right in that boxcar. Silly Hermione, Draco's just a self-serving bastard that's never had the capacity to like someone in his life. You better remember that…

AN: that's right Hermione! He's just a BASTARD! O gaspgaspgasp

Draco: Why thank you. :blush:

Me: oO

Harry: I'm not a bastard. I'm the hero of everything! D

Ron: bastard.

Harry: …

Me: aren't we all just pretty little bastards.

But anyways, this chappie was bad. Because frankly, as I age, I get dumber. I'm being truthful here. Comment if you like, flame if you want me to cry in my little hole. (