CHAPTER ONE: THE SORCERER'S STONE

A/N: This fic is about Romione from year one on, and basically is a collection of moments from Ron and Hermione's POV's. There are also missing moments between the two of them scattered through the fic, but most of these moments are pulled from actual quotes. I do not own Harry Potter or anything else, that belongs to JKRowling. Italics is for quotes taken from the book, and the occasional letter. Ellipses show where I skipped a portion of the actual quote. 3rd Person POV for both Ron and Hermione, and occasionally Harry. This is my first fic, please read and review!

First Meeting

The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth…

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." She sat down. Ron looked taken aback…

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard – I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough – I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" She said this all very fast. Harry looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the course books by heart either. "I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered…

And then she left, taking the toadless boy with her.

"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it,"

As Hermione made her way back to her compartment with Neville in tow, she thought over what she had said, thinking that she might have said too much. She could hear her mother in her ear, telling her to make friends as they parted just a few hours earlier. She had found a few other first years and joined their compartment and met Neville, Padma, Pavarti, Hannah and Justin. She had introduced herself in the same way she had to Harry and Ron, just like she had practiced.

Hermione hadn't seen the strange looks she was getting from the rest of them. She also hadn't seen the shared looks between Harry and Ron, but rather, took her best shot at making more friends.

As Hermione slid the compartment door open again, she heard laughing and conversation, but then she and Neville entered, and the conversations stopped dead. She sat down next to Hannah as Padma and Pavarti whispered between themselves, and the rest of them sat in awkward silence with each other. She bit her fingernails and wished someone would say something, looking longingly up at her trunk where she would find a book to distract her, but it seemed improper, given the stretch of silence between all 6 of them. Neville was gazing out the window, fretting, and Justin was on the verge of falling asleep.

After several minutes, the twins stood up and announced that they would be going to find the bathroom, and Hermione saw her chance to make a friend. She leaned over to Hannah and asked, "Do you know when we will be arriving?"

Hannah shook her head and replied, "I'm not sure, maybe in an hour or so?" Hannah promptly returned to staring out the window with Neville. Hermione blanked on her next move, and sat there, gears whirring, as she looked for some way to keep the conversation going.

"I'm going up to ask the conductor then," Hermione announced. Really, Hermione was going to stretch her legs and look for other first years that she could make friends with, because she felt that she had failed with Hannah. She wanted to learn more about the wizarding world and Hogwarts, but, like all the other first years, she was anxious to see the castle for the first time.

As she walked up the passage, she looked into the compartments, and saw many upperclassmen reading, eating sweets, talking, kissing, and moving from compartment to compartment. She realized just how lousy the atmosphere in her compartment was as she saw something explode in one compartment, followed by very loud laughter. However, many of the shades were drawn on some compartments. She was quite jostled by the time she got up to the conductor, so many students were in the halls.

The conductor looked rather taken aback at a student in the engine car, but was jolly nonetheless as he said, "Nearly there, miss."

Scabbers's Fight on the Train

All three of them disappeared at once… Perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in.

"What has been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking Scabbers up by his tail…

[Ron] turned to Hermione, "Can we help you with something?"

"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"

"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?"

"All right – I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. "And you've got dirt on your nose, did you know?"

Ron glared at her as she left.

Ron looked up and saw Hermione Granger again, and was tempted to say something rude, but was too caught up in Scabbers to really come up with anything that witty. He listened to Harry tell about his previous encounter with Malfoy, glancing briefly at Hermione, who seemed to be listening in, although confused. He then explained about the Dark Side, and found himself telling the story to both Harry and Hermione, who was still in their compartment.

Then, just to get Hermione to tell them why she was there in the first place, he asked her, "Can we help you with something?" It came out harsher than he had wanted, after all, he barely knew her, but his nerves were shot from a long and stressful day.

However, she returned the attitude, which seemed natural for her, and told them about the status of their arrival (which Ron was secretly happy to hear) and then immediately told them off for fighting, which reminded him heavily of Percy. Or his mother. Ron's face turned sour. Ron considered his comment to Harry beforehand, and thought of how dreadful two Percy's would be in Gryffindor. At this point, both of them were just looking for an excuse for her to leave, which Ron happily supplied by asking, rather snootily, "Would you mind leaving while we change?"

Hermione, however, got the last word, "You've got dirt on your nose, did you know?"

Hermione left their compartment for the second time that day, but this time, she realized she was having rotten luck making friends. The one person who knew anything about anything that she had talked to today was, consequently, also the rudest person she had spoken to today.

Ron had mentioned the Dark Side which piqued her interest, and she realized now more so than before, the importance of having friends at Hogwarts. Ron knew so much about the wizarding world, as she was sure most students did, but how would she ever learn the realities of it without making friends or going to a teacher?

Teachers, Hermione thought. Where were the teachers? So far, the only adult she had seen on the train was the conductor, and the lady who sold candies. She had already gotten strange looks from the conductor, and she assumed it would be the same for the candy lady.

Hermione steeled herself for the rest of her life as a witch, and promised herself to be brave, and to make friends her age, no matter how much it made her uncomfortable.

Hermione's Sorting

Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione.

…

No one was talking much except for Hermione Granger, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she'd need. Harry tried hard not to listen to her.

…

"Granger, Hermione!"

Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Ron groaned.

Ron's dislike for Hermione was only strengthened as she talked through their entire boat ride, only stopping briefly as the Castle came into view. She was reminding him more and more of Percy, but he was learning more about her too.

He learned that she knew actually quite a bit about Hogwarts, and seemed to know about as much as he did when it came to the sorting process. He also knew that she was muggleborn, and he was secretly intrigued, and knew that his dad would love to ask her or Harry questions. Clearly, she was bossy, and she sat up straight, all proper, even though her bushy hair and buck teeth took away from the image she was trying to exude.

Given what he had gathered about the size of her brain, Ron was placing his bets that she would be in Ravenclaw, and he would seldom have to interact.

Ron was tempted to ask her about the sorting process, but he couldn't find a time to cut her off, and he could hear his mother's voice in his head, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." He was in a rather up and down mood, and he felt that the down side would come out with her.

As he and Harry scrambled up the steps of the massive castle, he looked at Harry and made a face in her direction. Harry replied, "Maybe she's just nervous…" and shrugged his shoulders.

Ron scoffed and mumbled back to Harry, "maybe," and then their conversation was cut short by the awe of the castle.

The rollercoaster of a day Ron was riding hit its low when he met Professor McGonnagall, and all hopes of having any fun at Hogwarts (away from his parents at last!) were cut short by her stern look and the way she looked at him, like she was disappointed. He then remembered that "You've got dirt on your nose, did you know?" and her voice ricocheted through his brain as his ears became hot, and he turned into Harry and rubbed his nose.

Harry eventually got the last bits of dirt off, and Ron knew he would try to be Harry's friend at Hogwarts.

Ron's roller coaster took a skyrocketing high when he got used to the ghosts (wicked cool!) and walked into the Great Hall and realized that he only had to try on the hat to be sorted. He would be in Gryffindor for certain.

His nerves were mounting, as were Harry's. With each new person who was sorted, Ron was learning names, faces, and mentally judging that person, wondering who they were and their background. When it came to Hermione, his nervous energy transformed into anger, right behind his eyes, and he saw Hermione's happiness as she skipped over to Percy.

Harry Potter was sorted into Gryffindor, and this made Ron exceptionally happy, knowing that he would at least have one friend when he was in Gryffindor. Ron was still nervous as he walked up the steps, terrible thoughts crossing his mind as he sat down, thinking he might be in Slytherin or Hufflepuff, or thinking he might trip or vomit. The Sorting Hat whispered in his ear, and he, a Weasley, was sorted into Gryffindor.

Potions with Snape

Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead.

"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

… Harry glanced at Ron, who looked as stumped as he was; Hermione's hand had shot into the air.

… He ignored Hermione's hand.

"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Harry didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was.

… Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand.

"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling.

"I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"

… "Sit down," he snapped at Hermione.

As Snape was interrogating Harry, Ron wanted to say something, but knew from his brothers not to get in Snape's way. As Snape peppered Harry with questions, Ron was impressed that Hermione even knew what was being said, much less the answer. Ron was anxiously watching the ping pong match between Snape and Harry, and was tempted to flip through his book to try and find an answer, but he knew that this would disrupt the otherwise silent room.

However, Ron could not ignore Hermione's antics, and had to fight the urge to laugh as she stood up from her chair, trying to gain Snape's attention. Harry too noticed, and cemented himself in Ron's mind as the bravest person Ron knew when he said, "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"

When Snape told Hermione to sit down, Ron's eyebrows went up, and he was struck with just how brave Hermione had to have been to literally stand up to Snape. Ron now didn't wonder why she was in Gryffindor. She might be brave, he thought to himself, but doing something like that sure wasn't smart.

Hermione was thinking along the same lines as she took her seat. She should have never put herself out there, making a fool out of herself. After she got over the initial embarrassment of being put in her place, she couldn't help but think that Snape was the most unjust teacher she had ever met.

The Duel

Hermione settled in with a book for a long evening in the common room. She had heard from Neville, one of her closest friends at the moment, that Harry and Ron were going to sneak out, and she was going to stop them. Even though she had only been at Hogwarts for a few weeks, she already felt more at home here than in school back home.

Hermione had made friends with her roommates, and had been able to succeed in most of her classes. She was helping Neville with his schoolwork every day now, and she was on good terms with Percy.

Whether it be any number of these factors, or just the fact that she felt like Gryffindor was home, or maybe she was curious about what the boy who lived and his sidekick were up to, she chose to stay up.

They had almost reached the portrait whole when a voice spoke from the chair nearest them, "I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry."

A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger, wearing a pink bathrobe and a frown.

"You!" said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!"

"I almost told your brother," Hermione snapped, "Percy - he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this."

Harry couldn't believe anyone could be so interfering.

"Come on," he said to Ron. He pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole.

Hermione wasn't going to give up that easily. She followed Ron through the portrait hole, hissing at them like an angry goose.

"Don't you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves, I don't want Slytherin to win the House Cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells."

"Go away."

"All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, your so-"

But what they were, they didn't find out. Hermione had turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady to get back inside and found herself facing an empty painting. The Fat Lady had gone on a nighttime visit and Hermione was locked out of Gryffindor tower.

"Now what am I going to do?" she asked shrilly.

"That's your problem," said Ron. "We've got to go, we're going to be late."

They hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when Hermione caught up with them.

"I'm coming with you," she said.

"You are not."

"D'you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds all three of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up."

"You've got some nerve-" said Ron loudly.

"Shut up, both of you!" said Harry sharply. "I heard something."

It was a sort of snuffling.

"Mrs. Norris?" breathed Ron, squinting through the dark.

It wasn't Mrs. Norris. It was Neville. He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked suddenly awake as they crept nearer.

…

Ron looked at his watch and then glared furiously at Hermione and Neville.

"If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I learn that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you."

Hermione opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies, but Harry hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned them all forward.

…

Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again.

"You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"

"The floor?" Harry suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads."

"No, not the floor. It was standing on a trap door. It's obviously guarding something."

She stood up, glaring at them.

"I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed- or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."

Ron stared after her, his mouth open.

"No, we don't mind," he said. "You think we dragged her along, wouldn't you?"

Ron was incredulous. He couldn't believe their luck, they had been dragged down by two of the most untimely people and then Malfoy didn't even show! It was all a trap! Ron was quite happy that Hermione was as upset with them as he was with her, it gave her a reason not to talk to one another. He could be baffled by her in peace.

Harry on the other hand, was more intrigued as to what was through the trap door and could not be bothered by Hermione or what she thought of him.

Hermione is Quiet

Hermione would have no more of Harry and Ron's antics. She had decided that going after them was a stupid idea and she would stay out of it and let Percy deal with his brother.

Hermoine spent the next few weeks getting to know her schoolwork, her roommates, and Neville. She also caught up with the news through The Daily Prophet. However, her curiosity got the better of her quite frequently. She would see Ron and Harry whispering and she couldn't help but wonder if there was something bigger in Harry's life than what was on the outside.

Even so, Hermione remained an outsider with her roommates, not knowing wizarding pop culture, and not caring either. They would go on and on about new gossip about the Gryffindor tower, and Hermione found that she was the most content in the library, but she wasn't necessarily happy, either.

Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus.

…

"So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking the rules?" came in an angry voice from just behind them. Hermione was stomping up the stairs, looking disapprovingly at the package in Harry's hand.

"I thought you weren't speaking to us?" said Harry.

"Yes, don't stop now," said Ron, "it's doing us so much good."

Hermione marched away with her nose in the air.

Hermione knew it was a broomstick, the packaging was obvious. However, her curiosity got the better of her, and she didn't want to lose anymore house points due to them being stupid. She didn't know how he could get away with it, and how he hadn't gotten in trouble yet. She wanted to know where he got it, or who he got it from; he had no family. As she stormed off, she knew she couldn't go far, she had class with them in a half hour.

Her feet, surprisingly, had plans for the library. She hadn't expected to know the castle this well this soon. As she plopped down at one of the small tables between the stacks, she looked into her bookbag for something to do, something to distract her from what Ron had said.

She pulled out today's Daily Prophet and absently flipped through the pages, when it hit her, she hadn't spoken to her parents since her first week at Hogwarts.

Dear Mum and Dad,

I'm sorry for not writing earlier, so much has happened here at Hogwarts! My classes are going well, I am spending so much of my time studying, everything is so new, and even those who come from wizarding families have to work hard to keep up. Not only do we have the usual classes like charms, transfiguration, potions, and history of magic, but last week, we had a flying class. On brooms! You know how sports were never really my thing, and heights aren't really for me either, but luckily, there are quite a few good books on flying that I checked out from the library.

Anyways, our first flying lesson, one of my friends, Neville, starts hovering too early because he is just as nervous as I am, and he ends up breaking his wrist because of his fall, but he's ok, he was back to normal later that day. Anyways, while he is up in the air, his Remembrall falls out of his pocket, and Draco, who is a Slytherin, picks it up and starts taunting the Gryffindors. (Draco's not very nice, and is just a general bully, and none of the teachers ever stop him… maybe because he comes from a wizard family). Anyways, Harry Potter (I remember telling you about him in my last letter) chases him on his own broom and makes a spectacular catch of the Remembrall. But then he got caught by Professor McGonagall, and I'm not sure what he did for punishment. Just today, Harry Potter got a broomstick even though first years aren't allowed. I don't know how he got it.

Also, our headmaster is a bit loony, and some of the teachers here are downright mean. I'm afraid that this might get me in huge trouble if I tell anyone here, but the Headmaster is keeping a three headed dog, and it's the size of a small house, locked in the castle! The only reason I know this is because Harry Potter and his friend Ron Weasley locked me out of the common room and dragged me through the castle in the middle of the night, it wasn't my fault, I was trying to stop them from going in the first place, but we were hiding from the caretaker, and we got into the room where the dog was and it only took the most basic unlocking charm to get the door open! Almost all students know that charm! Except for Harry or Ron, we would have all gotten in serious trouble if not for me, and even then, I don't know what would be worse, detention or the dog or spending another second with those boys, they are just so crude and defensive all the time.

I have to get to class now, but I really do enjoy it here, the coursework is just fascinating, and most of our teachers have so much knowledge. I feel like I fit in here a little bit.

Love, Hermione

Meanwhile, Ron was also thinking about sending a letter home to his parents. He had gotten several letters from his mum, and a couple notes from his father, Bill, and Charlie.

Ron thought of all the things that he could send home to his mother. Not much, besides the fact that he was doing well and the food was good, and about his friendship with Harry. Everything else would get a Howler from her.

Ron thought about sending a letter back to Bill, his closest brother, and telling him about all of the adventures of Hogwarts, from Malfoy to the Remembrall to Snape to Hermione.

Maybe he should tell someone about Hermione. Was it normal for someone to annoy him that much? Malfoy sure did, and that was evidence enough for Ron.

Wingardium Leviosa

Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger. It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this. She hadn't spoken to either of them since the day Harry's broomstick had arrived.

…

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.

"You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."

"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.

Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

…

Ron was in a very bad mood by the end of class.

"It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "she's a nightmare, honestly."

Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione. Harry caught a glimpse of her face – and was startled to see that she was in tears.

"I think she heard you."

"So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed she's got no friends."

Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Harry and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone. Ron looked still more awkward at this.

Hermione bumped Harry and Harry bumped Ron, but Ron was hit with the sudden realization and regret for what he had said. It wasn't the first time he had made a girl cry, but he felt guilty trying to justify his actions in any way. He tried to play it cool, and Harry saw right through his act.

Hermione, however, did not see his regret as she ran away, crying. She went where we all go when we want to have a good cry, the bathroom. She couldn't think straight, besides all the negative thoughts plaguing her mind, and then the added pressure of having to be in class and missing dinner, but she would not leave this bathroom until she had composed herself.

Ron couldn't help but notice her absence in the next class, and at the feast. Her absence was a reminder of what he had said and he felt considerably guilty, considering that they were supposed to hate each other.

The Troll

Harry suddenly grabbed Ron's arm.

"I've just thought – Hermione."

"What about her?"

"She doesn't know about the troll."

Ron bit his lip.

"Oh, all right," he snapped.

…

But as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop – a high, petrified scream – and it was coming from the chamber they'd just chained up.

… "Hermione!" they said together.

… Harry looked at the floor. He wished Ron would put his wand down.

Then a small voice came out from the shadows.

"Please, Professor McGonagall – they were looking for me."

"Miss Granger!"

Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last.

"I went looking for the troll because I – I thought I could deal with it on my own – you know, because I've read all about them."

Ron dropped his wand. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher?

…

"We should have gotten more than ten points," Ron grumbled.

"Five, you mean, once she's taken off Hermione's."

"Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Ron admitted. "Mind you, we did save her."

"She might not have needed saving if we hadn't locked the thing in with her," Harry reminded him.

… Hermione, however, stood alone by the door, waiting for them. There was a very embarrassed pause. Then, none of them looking at each other, they all said "Thanks," and hurried off to get their plates.

But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.