New Alliances

Waking up in her four poster, Hermione felt she was ready for the day. Gently getting out of bed she noticed Daphne was already dressed and was doing her hair. "Good morning Heiress Greengrass." Said Hermione lightly.

"Good morning Scion Malfoy." Because Draco was the heir, Hermione was addressed as scion to still give her the respect her house dictated.

"Please, as we will be living together for the most of the next seven years, call me Hermione." Hermione hated to think if she were only referred to by her title. She may even forget her name!

"Then please call me Daphne." The other girl replied with a soft smile.

With pleasantries out of the way, Hermione moved to the bathroom to get ready for classes. Showering and doing her hair, she thought about how today would go. She was excited for classes. Using magic and learning was always a fun thing to do for her. Pansy moved into the bathroom, and they exchanged the same pleasantries, offering to be called by their names instead.

Hermione finished her morning routine and left their dormitory to find Draco. He was waiting with Theodore. "Good Morning Heir Nott."

"Scion Malfoy." It would be inappropriate for them to fall to their given names as it would imply a certain sort of closeness that would be inappropriate.

"How was your evening Draco?" Hermione wanted to make sure her brother was okay. They had never been apart for long. Their rooms were even connected back at the Manor. When they were younger, they were often found in one bed. Draco and Hermione seemed to have a very strong sibling bond. A sibling bond wasn't uncommon in the wizarding world however it was something they wanted to keep a secret. They enjoyed having something be just theirs as often enough they were in The Prophet. Not even their birthday presents were just theirs as the prophet always reported what they received, almost as if it was some sort of competition for gift givers to beat.

"I wrote to Mother and Father. I told them all about Weasley." Draco said.

"I can't wait to see what they send back." Hermione loved her parents, but she was glad to be away for a while. It was hard being perfect all the time. Though her parents wouldn't punish her for not acting properly all the time, she didn't like seeing the small amount of disappointment in their eyes when she did something incorrectly.

Making their way to the Great Hall, Hermione looked at all the portraits and ghosts. The castle was so alive. The Manor could feel lonely at times. Theodore and Draco were talking about quidditch. No one would ever guess that quiet Theodore would like quidditch, but he was actually quite good. He just didn't like the attention that came with being on the pitch. They had almost entered the Great Hall when they saw Ronald Weasley practically hanging off of Harry Potter. Hermione would have liked getting to know Potter but now that Weasley had latched onto him, he probably fell into the whole "Slytherins are evil" propaganda.

"Oi, make sure to stay away from them Harry. You'll soon learn that some wizarding families are better than others. I mean who would want to be friends with a dark witch." It seems Weasley had seen them as he spouted his beliefs to Potter. Potter however seemed to pull away from Weasley.

"You sound like my cousin Dudley. I don't like Dudley." Harry frowned. He didn't want to scorn the first friend he made but he hated bullying more than anything. He would rather be friendless than associate with a bully. He knew better than others that most people would do nothing in the face of a bully. He refused to be complacent. Harry walked over to the group of Slytherins and held his hand out.

"Hi. I'm Harry Potter."

The group of Slytherins stood in shock for a moment before Hermione moved forward.

"Heir Potter, I'm Hermione Malfoy. It is a pleasure to meet you." She curtsied as was appropriate, leaving Harry's hand in the air between them. Harry was confused. He wasn't really rebuffed as she had introduced herself but why hadn't she shaken his hand? Was she a germaphobe or something? And why had she called him "Heir Potter?" Hermione saw his confusion and offered an explanation. "I gave you the greeting as is appropriate to someone of your station. As you are part of a noble house, we are in equal standing because I'm simply the scion of my house." Harry looked even more confused at this.

"I'm a noble?" Harry asked.

"Not yet." Draco stepped in as he would be more able to answer the question because he was an heir too. "You can claim lordship over your house on your 17th birthday. You are the heir until then."

"Oh." Was all that came from Harry.

They were still standing next to the entrance of the Great Hall when Professor Snape appeared behind Harry. "Potter, already causing trouble?"

Before Harry could say anything, Hermione spoke up. "No Professor. We were just discussing Heir Potter's lordship." Snape had a soft spot for Hermione, even more so than Draco because Hermione would sit with him while he was brewing.

Snape gave her a calculating look. "Alright then. Make your way to breakfast or I may have to start deducting points for needlessly crowding the hall."

At that they rushed into the Great Hall and made their way to their respective tables. Hermione noticed Harry sit with Heir Longbottom instead of Weasley. This please Hermione greatly until Weasley walked up to Harry. She couldn't hear them but soon enough Harry moved over to allow Weasley to sit down. It seemed that Weasley had apologized, and Harry had accepted that. Well, Hermione thought that maybe, just maybe, Potter would still seek them out. She had liked helping him. These were things he should have been raised with. The fact that he lacked vital information irked Hermione something fierce. She would work to make sure she could still talk to him. Maybe she could find out why he didn't know these things. Everyone thought that he had been raised by Dumbledore or one of Dumbledore's lackeys she there was no reason he should be ignorant of his roles in society. She was knocked out of her thoughts by Draco. "What are you thinking about Hermione?"

"Why didn't Potter know he was an Heir?"

"You know I didn't even really think about it. Now that you mention it, it is weird. We can keep an eye out for information. I could write Father to see if he knows anything." Draco looked at her questioningly, waiting for her input.

"Yeah, I think that would be a good idea. Something not right is going on with him." Hermione decided then to pay extra attention to Potter. He seemed insecure, not like what an Heir should be at all. She may find some damaging information as Dumbledore was the one tasked with Harry's life as far as she knew.

Making their way to potions after breakfast, the Slytherins were all thinking about the interaction in front of the Great Hall. Theodore thought that Potter may have been playing dumb. Daphne and Pansy both believed that Potter was just stupid, maybe he had refused his tutors.

Even Severus Snape was questioning what had happened. If Potter truly didn't know about his titles, then perhaps more had been kept from him. He would have to hold back his rage for James Potter and judge Harry separately. Though Severus had no hope for young Mr. Potter, he would be willing to adjust his perception with proof. Soon students were pouring into his classroom. He watched the Potter boy choose a desk close to the board and ready his parchment, quill, and ink for notetaking. He was already off to a better start that Severus would have expected from James potter's spawn. James Potter would have never taken notes on the first day of class. He always conned some girl into taking notes for him. Obviously, Harry was different in this aspect, but Snape would hold out on a final judgment until he was absolutely certain this Potter would not be like the one he knew in his youth.