Chapter 3

The three land onto the very familar platform as a small curly-haired girl is escorted through the portal by her parents and the lady Professor that had first visited them a year previous. Her parents and her look around in wonder before loading her trunk and saying goodbye. Both Hermione and her mother are crying, and while her father is trying to appear stoic, his glistening eyes give him away.

She climbs aboard and soon finds a seat with a sandy-haired chubby boy. The compartment also has two others in it. A blonde bubbly girl,who doesn't seem to shut up and a red haired girl who is quietly nodding along politely, but doesn't seem to be all that interested in the blonde's topic of conversation.

Isabelle, after a moment, realizes that the boy is Uncle Neville and the red head is Auntie Sue.

The view switches and they are outside the portal again. This time it is George's arrival that they are watching.

The stocky, shorter George arrives with his twin, older brother Percy, younger brother Ron, and little sister Ginny. The large family is lead by their boisterous mother, Molly. Molly is going on about how the train station is packed with muggles and that they are looking for Platform 9 3/4, like the kids didn't already know that. In fact, the older three were wondering why they were on this side of the magical barrier.

When they get to the entrance, the carrot headed family find a little lost boy with a white owl looking around. He politely asks for help, which Molly gives willingly and waits patiently as Percy goes through for an example. George and Fred try and confuse their mother, making her all flustered.

On the other side of the portal, George and Fred meet up with Lee and load their trunks. Lee shows them his new pet tarantula. George and Fred help the boy and Ron load their trunks and the two firsties get on before them. The boy thanks them, which is more than their own brother does.

The family watches as Hermione meets many of her year mates while helping Neville look for his lost toad, Trevor. She watches as Ron attempts a spell on his rat to turn him yellow. George laughs. "He actually thought Fred was seriously teaching him a spell?" She repairs Harry's glasses and goes on her way. Draco Malfoy is coolly polite, not knowing who or what she is yet. Now the blonde is a good friend, but for many years they were pitted against each other.

The memories change back to George's of the sorting that night.

The doors of the Great Hall open wide to allow Professor McGonagall and the firsties in for the sorting. George is not really paying much attention, as he and Fred are in a discussion with Lee, but they clap whenever Gryffindor is called out. That is until a famous name is called.

"Harry Potter."

George looks up with everyone else and watches as the little boy from the station climbs to the stool. That's Harry Potter?

The whole table stands and cheers when he is eventually placed in the house of Lions, after an almost hat stall. Fred and George do a dance and chant. "We've got Potter, We've got Potter!"

They settle down afterward, practically ignoring their brother getting sorted. When the feast starts, George looks around at the new members of the Gryffindor house. He really is not that impressed. That is until his eyes land on the prettiest girl he had ever seen. She had curly caramel hair and sparkling golden brown eyes. She was in a discussion with Percy and all George could think was his older brother was lucky for it.

That night, George laid in his bed and thought about the girl. He had found out her name from Percy, who had admonished him for not listening during the sorting. Hermione, that was different and he liked it just as much as he did the girl, herself.

Over the next month and half, George noticed that Ron was an arse to her. She always seemed to be alone and sad, so he pulled Fred over to talk to her.

At first, she seemed scared that the older brothers of her tormentor were going to do the same. Soon though, she relaxed, as they made her laugh with stories of how much a prat and numbskull Ron is.

"Don't let that prat make you feel like this. He doesn't know what he is talking about. You deserve your place here more than any pure-blood, only because you showed that you did, as opposed to any of us that unless we are squibs, are automatically invited.Well, that is if our parents were students, I highly doubt that we would be students here if our parents hadn't attended." He tells her, looking into her eyes to make sure she understands.

"Thank you." She says and continues with her homework.

Over the next few weeks, George checks in with Hermione at least once a day, to make sure that she is doing alright. Fred pulls him to the side on the day before Halloween.

"I've noticed that you have taken a shine to that girl. What's up? I'm not worried, she is actually only two yearsyounger, but I've never seen you like this."

George tells him about what happened after sorting. Fred nods and tells him that he is behind him. They agree to keep an eye out for the girl and head to class with Professor Snape.

Halloween that first year was not pleasant for Hermione. She tried to help Ron with his classwork in Charms and got embarrassed in front of the whole year-groupfor her efforts. No one disagreed with his boasts of her being a snobbish know-it all and that she had no friends. She rushes by and locks herself in a stall of the girls bathroom.

Hermione had wanted to go home, since she found out that once again she didn't fit in with the others. The only bright moments that stood out were when she was welcomed to Gryffindor by the clapping upperclassmen and when Ron's older brothers sat with her. She didn't feel as alone then.

She is drying her eyes and figures that she has been moping enough for one night, so she is exiting the cubicle when the mountaintroll lumbers in the bathroom door. He is soon followed by Harry Potter and a trailing Ron Weasley. You could tell by the way he was fidgeting that he really didn't want to be there.

Harry saves her from the troll, climbing up the monster. This distracts it from smashing sinks and cubicles to get to her. Harry bellows to Ron to do something. Hermione tells him to levitate the club like in class. Ron is finally able to do so and lets it drop on the troll's head, knocking it unconscious.

All three students are recovering from the incident, when the professors come skating into the room. Professor Snape is limping and hastily covers the large bite mark that was on his leg. Professor McGonagall, scared for the three first years reprimandsthem, removes points from Hermione, only to give them right back to the boys.

Hermione's covering their arses, is what forms the deep bond with Harry and indifference with Ron instead of outright dislike.