HOGWARTS, YEAR 1: FALL

Hermione rushed to the abandoned bathroom, wiping her cheeks with the sleeve of her robes as she went. Stupid Ron. Why was he always so thoughtless? She had hoped that things would be different when she got to Hogwarts. She thought she could finally put the years of bullying to rest and make some real friends. Instead, she found she was ostracized by her own House in addition to everyone else. The Malfoy boy she met in Diagon Alley barely glanced at her, surrounded as he always was by his fellow Slytherins. When he did meet her eyes, it was usually to give her a superior smirk.

She knew why people didn't like her. She was a know-it-all, but she couldn't help it. She loved to learn, and furthermore she wanted to prove all those stupid Purebloods, like Draco sodding Malfoy, wrong. She wanted to belong in the wizarding world.

Locking herself in a stall, she sank down and sobbed. She was so lonely. Just one friend, she pleaded silently. I just want one friend.

The bathroom door slammed open, followed by booming footsteps. Her heart stilled as she peeked under the stall to see two grotesquely huge feet and the blood-stained tip of a heavy club. A troll! The shuddering footfalls stopped. There was a loud sniffing, and then her stall door was ripped off its hinges. She shrieked and dove through the troll's thick legs before it rounded on her. Hermione thought she was done for, when in ran Harry and Ron.

A few distractions, a particularly well-placed "Wingardium Leviosa" and one lie later, Hermione finally got her wish: she had friends.

From then on, she went everywhere with Harry and Ron. Their school marks improved, and Hermione no longer cried in empty bathrooms. It was a win-win. Her relationship with Draco Malfoy changed as well. Instead of smirking, he now glared.

WINTER

He spoke to her once that year, when he came upon her at the back of the library.

"Granger," she heard someone say. Her head snapped up from her book.

She blinked at Malfoy suspiciously, glancing around for his cronies.

"Where are your friends?"

"As if Crabbe and Goyle would ever set foot in a library," he scoffed, rolling his eyes.

She breathed a sigh of relief. She really didn't like those brutes.

"What do you want, Malfoy? Come to congratulate yourself on nearly getting me expelled?"

"Don't sneak illegally traded dragons out of the castle at midnight, and you won't have to worry about expulsion!"

She flushed. "It's not like it was my idea."

"Of course it wasn't, Granger. But you keep hanging about with imbeciles like Weasley and Potter."

She sputtered. "Harry is NOT an imbecile, and Ron, well…Ron's very good at chess," she said defensively.

He smirked.

"Stop that," she said. "And you have some nerve calling my friends imbeciles when you hang out with the likes of Crabbe and Goyle."

He had no retort for that.

"Look, I didn't come here to debate which one of us has dumber friends, but you should consider connecting yourself to people other than Potty and the Weasel," Draco said. "Maybe some Ravenclaws. They share your penchant for being an obnoxious know-it-all."

"I don't know if you noticed, Malfoy, but I don't exactly have a fan club. I can't throw away my only friends. Besides, Gryffindors are nothing if not loyal." She crossed her arms and stared at him defiantly.

"Fine," he spat. "It's your funeral, Granger. Don't think I'd care if something happened to you anyway. One less Muggle polluting the magical world."

He stalked away before Hermione could respond. She huffed, trying to get back into her book but failing. Ugh. What a git.

She gathered her things, hoping that Ron and Harry were in the common room so they could play a game or two of Exploding Snap and distract her from thoughts of accusatory grey eyes.

SPRING

The Great Hall was decked out in silver and green to celebrate Slytherin winning the House Cup. Chatter sounded around Hermione, fading to curious whispers as Dumbledore stood up.

"While I applaud the Slytherins for an admirable performance this year, there are still a few House points to be awarded." Snape went rigid, as did his students. "To Mr. Harry Potter, who has shown extraordinary courage in defending the Sorcerer's Stone, I award 60 points." The Slytherins booed and hissed in shock. "To Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, for demonstrating strategic skill and great wisdom in the face of immeasurable danger – I award 50 points each." Hermione smiled nervously as people clapped around her.

"Finally, I award 10 points to Neville Longbottom. It takes great courage to stand with our friends, and even more to stand up to them." The Great Hall exploded in noise as the green banners were replaced with red and gold. Gryffindor had done it! They'd won the House Cup, and Hermione had helped. She felt slightly bad for the Slytherins (some of whom actually got up and left) but decided that they wouldn't even blink if they had been the ones to take the House Cup out from under the Gryffindors.

She glanced around the Great Hall contentedly, trying to memorize every magical feature before they went home for the summer. Her eyes landed on the Slytherin table, and her smile fell. Draco Malfoy was staring at her, a storm swirling in his eyes. He's probably just livid that Gryffindor won the Cup. She sent him a confused glare before Harry drew her attention back to the feast.