Chapter One: Say what you think, no one's listening...

Hermione Granger was in her bed, tossing and turning, like she was in a dream. But she was awake. Hermione stared at her watch; it was 9 in the morning. Hermione stood up on her feet, and stretched. She was still half-asleep, exasperated from the night before. Last night, was mainly spent time with drinking beer, karaoke bars, snogging and hang-overs. It was Hermione's last night of the muggle civilization, until the beginning of next summer. Hermione jumped off her bed in a not-so-graceful motion. She opened her closet and reached out for her uniform, brassiere, underwear and stockings.

Hermione went into her bathroom, hanging her clothes on a railing, and putting her pajamas in the hamper. Hermione stepped into the shower, reaching for the shower head; she turned it on, the warm water making her frizzy hair straight. Hermione's golden brown hair became a dark, mousey brown color. She grabbed some shampoo from the metallic basket, and lathered it onto her hair. She rubbed, soaked, scrubbed, dried, washed herself until she was clean and sanitized as always. Hermione stepped out of the shower, drying herself with a large black towel; she put on her clothes and stepped out of her bathroom looking entirely different. Hermione brushed her hair with a silver brush, she stared in the mirror as she did so, and Hermione put the brush down and grabbed some lip-gloss from her counter-top. She put it on carefully. Hermione's eyes diverted to her jar of numerous colors of eyeliner, she grabbed a black pencil, and began to line her eyes thin, not thick, so she wouldn't look like a slut.

Hermione grabbed her book-bag, and peered into it, it had everything she needed. She lugged her trunk outside, with her bag around her shoulders and Crookshanks following her like she was a magnet. Hermione put her trunk and bag into the car, and went straight to the kitchen right after, to have something to eat. She grabbed an apple from the food bowl, and took a large bite into it. After about five minutes or so, the apple was found in the trash can, with no flesh, only a core.

"Goodbye, mother." said Hermione, kissing her mother before she left.

"I'll miss you, darling, remember to write." replied Mrs. Granger, who was hugging Hermione tightly, as though it was the last time she would ever see her daughter.

Hermione and her father walked to the car, and drove off from the Granger Residence. As they were speeding away, Hermione stared at the window, until her mother's white roses were no longer visible to her eyes. She grabbed her CD player from her bag, and put her earphones into her ears, she let the music clear her mind as the car passed each house, each mailbox, each fence and each person...

Hermione awoke an hour later, she was at the station, and her father was unloading her trunk from the car. Hermione climbed out and kissed her father goodbye, and entered the station like any other person who was there. Hermione quickly found the platform; she entered it and saw familiar faces all around her. She made her way t the benches, where she, Harry and Ron initially planned to meet. Harry was there, talking to Ron and Ginny. They looked... Different, in a way, in a good way, mind you. Hermione sat down next to Ginny, it took all of them quite a while to finally notice she was there.

"I'm sorry, that seat is reserved for... HERMIONE!" squealed Ginny. Hermione smiled, she hugged Ginny.

"Hey." she replied, "I can't believe that it took you that long to notice I was here."

"You want one?" asked Ron, offering some beans, from his sack. Hermione politely said no and faced Harry.

"Hi Harry, are you okay? You seem to have drifted off from existence." joked Hermione.

"Hi." he mumbled unenthusiastically.

He was staring at something. Hermione looked in the direction he was looking at. So did Ginny. And Ron. Apparently, Harry was staring at a girl. A girl with mid-length hair boldly colored a blue black and streaked with a magenta sort-of-color. Hermione nudged Ginny, Ginny shrugged.

"Do you know who that is?" asked Hermione to Ron.

"Errr... Yeah."

"Well who is it?" asked Hermione, annoyed, slightly.

"Ummmmmm... I think her name is... Roseanne something."

"NO YOU IDIOT! THAT'S THE PERSON SHE'S TALKING TO!" pointed out Ginny. "That girl is Thorn... Black."

"What?" asked Hermione, stunned by this girl's last name, "Black? Does she have some sort of relation to Sirius?" Harry turned around and shot Hermione a sharp look. Hermione remembered why. Sirius had died two years ago; he had been Harry's only real family.

"If you want to know, I don't know whether she does" answered Ginny. "She's a pureblood." hesitated Ginny, making face, "But she isn't like Pug-faced Parkinson, or Ferret-Boy. She's actually nice."

"So you've spoken to her?"

"Yeah." answered Ginny, "Earlier, she ran over my foot with a trolley, and I was really angry, but she was very polite. She apologized."

"Yes, that is nice for a pureblood." agreed Hermione. Hermione looked at her watch; it was almost time to board onto the train.

Hermione gathered her things, Ginny, Ron and Harry, did as well. They began to board the train; Hermione wasn't going to be sitting with them though, since she was to be Head Girl this year. She didn't know who Head Boy was, but whoever it was she knew he wasn't in Gryffindor. But she already had some idea who it was, a certain platinum blonde haired, silver-grey eyed, emerald-green wearing boy. Draco Malfoy.

Hermione entered the train, and went inside a compartment marked with silver initials reading HB/HG. Hermione entered the compartment; it was much larger, and more... luxurious, by a bit. The seats were large and velvet, it was still untouched; no marks were left on it. The floor was shiny and polished, it wasn't stained. The curtains were maroon and smelled like a summer breeze.

Hermione sat down on one of the large velvet seats, the velvet hugged her, like it was alive, and Hermione smiled to herself and began reading her book, until a large crash disturbed the silence. Hermione stood up and stared from the compartment doors. There was a hot, sweaty, boozy-looking, blonde-haired boy, struggling as he tried to walk to the compartment.

"Oh my god, this can't be happening." murmured Hermione. The boy kept walking closer and closer to the compartment, Hermione could have fainted right there. Since the boy that she would be sharing this compartment with, sharing a room with, was Draco Malfoy, but, not just any Draco Malfoy, but a boozy, drunk Draco Malfoy.

The boy walked into the compartment, and propped himself against the seat across from Hermione's and put his head against the window. Hermione stared at him in the silence; she didn't know what to say. It was Draco Malfoy in front of her, and God knows how long she'd be staring at him in the silence. Hermione stared at him; he seemed to be asleep, peaceful, and almost angelic. His platinum-blonde hair was ruffled, and sweat made it stick onto his forehead. The sleeves of his uniform were rolled up until the joints of his elbow. He didn't toss nor turn in his sleep, he was tranquil. Hermione soon fell asleep, due to boredom, she tossed and turned though, dreaming away...

Draco Malfoy awoke in the darkness, they were in a tunnel. His memory was a daze; he scratched his head, as they approached the end of the tunnel. Light burst through the open windows, and then he saw her. He stared in amazement as he realized who it was, Granger. He scowled; he was going to be stuck in a room with a girl whom he hated so much he could rip off his arm and throw it at her. But he was almost too conscious of getting blood-stained with a Mudblood's blood to actually do that. Draco picked up Hermione's bag carefully; he unzipped it carefully, seeing each time if Hermione stirred in her sleep. Draco finally unzipped it, he looked inside, then decided to spill the contents onto his seat. He looked at what he could see: pen, paper, a novel, a quill, a bottle of ink, a train ticket, money in a black wallet and finally, a black leather covered book. Draco ignored all the other common objects, and opened the diary. But it remained shut. Draco tried and tried, until he heard Hermione groan.

Draco was panicking; this girl knew more spells than anyone in his year. He stuffed the other objects in her bag, zipped it up and kicked it gently with his foot to her seat, whilst the diary was tucked inside his robes. Hermione awoke and saw a very sinister expression plastered on a relaxed face. Draco tried to stay inauspicious as possible. Hermione arose to her proper sitting position and smoothened out her skirt. She didn't say a word. Draco smiled, he enjoyed Granger feeling helpless and alone, without weasel-bottom and ickle scar-head.

"What's the matter Granger, feeling slightly lonesome?" taunted Draco, with a sly smile. Hermione stared at him in disbelief like she had just heard something impossible.

"Look, Malfoy," said Hermione hastily, accenting the Malfoy part, "I don't like this anymore than you do. Imagine this going on, except for a year, non-stop."

"Temper, Temper, Granger." said Draco, wagging his finger at her. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I don't like you, anymore than you like me. But if anything funny happens in our--- I mean the common room, I swear to God I will hex you with the most painful, yet allowed in school, curse you will ever feel." warned Hermione, her eyes glittering with rage, and her voice strong and steady. Draco laughed.

"You truly don't mean that, even I know that. I mean Granger, you're not exactly revenge material." answered Draco, fumbling with his sleeves.

"Fine, believe what you want, but I am not as weak as you think. Mind you, I was with Harry during everything that happened to this school." reminded Hermione. She began to enjoy this a bit.

"Yes, you just love gloating about what happened between you, scar-head, weasel-bottom and the school." laughed Draco, "And believe me, no one really gives a damn of what you did, when you did it, and where, no one even cares about the fact that scar-head saved the school numerous times, so I doubt they even care about what you say."

Hermione took a sharp intake of air, why should she care about what the ferret thought? He wasn't important, and it wasn't like she was going to spend the entire year--- Oh wait, she was. Hermione frowned, looking pissed off, and she stared at the window. It was about 7:45 in the evening, Hermione guessed. They would arrive at the school in about and fifteen minutes or so. She stood up from her seat and left the compartment without another word. Hermione walked down to the compartment 213, which was where Harry, Ron, Luna, Ginny and Neville were. Hermione knocked on the compartment door.

"Who is it?" asked a hasty voice, a voice that Hermione didn't recognize. It was a girl's voice; it wasn't Ginny for sure or even Luna.

"It's Hermione." answered Hermione. Hermione could wrappers being picked up, a lot of bumpy noises and then finally the lock unbolted. She reached for the handle, and she swung the door open. Hermione was face-to-face with six sweaty innocent faces.

"Hi." greeted Luna casually, she could tell her voice was quivering; all of them were sitting there like they had been silenced.

"Obviously, I am interrupting something, so I am just going to leave." announced Hermione, catching each stare that came to her eyes.

Hermione marched off, but no one chased after her, no one bothered to even try. Hermione couldn't believe it; they weren't acting like her friends. They were acting oh-so completely different from this morning. Hermione felt confused; who could she talk to or even trust now?

Draco was busily staring in the darkness, as the lights were shut off, he was just thinking... mindlessly. He was waiting for Hermione to return, he needed something to do, so he decided he would annoy her or at least piss her off as much as possible. He stared at the clock in the compartment; it was 7:50... Only. They would be at school in ten minutes. The compartment door suddenly swung open, Draco tried to remain hidden in the darkness, as he wanted to scare Hermione... or at least whoever or whatever it was. It was a girl, Draco realized, as her thin legs swept over his pant leg, Draco stuck his foot back, as soon as she had passed it.

"Malfoy?" said Hermione, hoping it was Draco, well, Draco would be better than a Dementor, at least. But, there was no answer. Hermione sat down on what she hoped was a seat, but ended up sitting of the floor. Hermione cursed herself angrily and stood up and felt around for her seat. She felt the smooth, familiar velvet seat tingle her fingers, she sat down.

"Malfoy, where is my diary?" asked Hermione, as she fumbled about in her bag, trying to feel the smooth leather cover in the darkness.

Draco froze, panicking slightly. He took out the diary from his robes and gently, put it onto the floor, and moved it with his foot, so that Hermione wouldn't realize she had missed it. Hermione walked over to Draco's seat and turned on the lights, she saw the diary, right there, in front of her seat. She turned and faced Draco; his head was pressed onto the window, as he had probably fallen asleep again. Draco faked a yawn, and opened his eyes, and saw Hermione getting her trunk off the railings from above the seats, as fast as she could, since the train stopped. She walked out of the compartment; the only thing heard was the soft clicking of her boots, and the bangs from her trunk hitting the walls of the train. Draco soon arose from his position, and grabbed his trunk as well.

"Are you coming, darling?" asked a voice.

"Mmmm. Yes." answered Draco, as he kissed Pansy's cheek. He walked off, lugging his trunk along the corridors of the train, when he suddenly, caught the stare of Hermione, fixated on him. She looked away, and continued walking on the gravel path. Draco smiled, as it was only the beginning.