~Perfect Harmony~

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling. If I were, I would have shipped Dramione all the way instead of backing out. Love you, you brilliant woman but I am bitter about this!

Anyhow, enjoy!

~Platform 9 ¾~

Since her trip to Diagon Alley, Hermione has had her nose in her books with her wand permanently stuck in her grasp. She had probably read Hogwarts, A History at least a dozen times and was currently reading it once more. She'd gone through her entire Standard Book of Spells Grade 1 by Bathilda Bagshot, practicing every single harmless spell at least five times. If she crossed one that seemed trickier than the others, she would practice more until it came just as easily. Eliza assured her that there was much more to learn, but she would be starting off easily. She also apologized once a letter came with a warning of how underage wizards were not to use magic outside of school. Eliza seemed to have gotten too excited and forgotten that little bit.

Hermione was extremely excited, however, once Eliza showed her a picture of the vast library she had access to. There was a restricted section that Hermione, of course, wouldn't be able to use as of yet, but Eliza said it was probably for the best.

She was very interested to learn potions, but refrained from using any at home just in case something went wrong. She didn't want to ruin the carpet, and Eliza refused to clean up her mess. After all, even if Hermione brewed them perfectly, there was still the matter of going and buying more ingredients. Some weren't too hard to get, but some were extremely expensive. To be honest, Hermione knew that she and her family had more than enough money to go and buy the ingredients, but she would still feel awful having her parents spend money needlessly. She also understood the hassle of going back and forth to Diagon Alley as many times as she probably would need to. So she complied and instead decided to read through her potions book until she had memorized every single piece of information it had to offer. She was still astonished by everything she'd read and seen this summer, wonder filling her eyes every time she came across something she'd missed the time before.

There was something else on her mind as well: that boy with the pointed nose and white-blonde hair. He'd had fair, pale skin and cool, steel-grey eyes. True, she supposed that he were fairly good-looking, especially to the other girls his age, but there was something about him that drew her mind back to him. She couldn't put her finger on it, though. Sure, she found it interesting that his family did business with hers, but she had long since gotten over that factor. Perhaps it was what Eliza had said about him being a pureblood. It couldn't have been his attitude. She was used to bullies. After all, skipping grades and graduating middle school at the age of ten caused many to look down on her, thinking she was a know-it-all. True, she loved being called on in class. She loved knowing more than everyone else so that she could help out. She loved being the smartest kid in school, but that didn't mean she wanted to be labeled as the know-it-all who thought she was better than everyone else. She wasn't. Not once had she ever thought she was better than anyone just for being smart. She just didn't want to look like a fool in class, and she liked knowing what was going on so she could help those around her.

Putting those thoughts out of her mind, she closed her book and levitated it towards her trunk where the rest of her things had been placed. Tomorrow was September 1st, the day she left for school. She was eager to get a good night's sleep for the train ride there. It was a peculiar train number, though. Platform 9 ¾. She wasn't even sure such a thing existed, but Eliza assured her it did. There was just a special way to board it, granting access only to those who knew the secret. When she asked Eliza about it, however, Eliza merely told her it would be a surprise. It intrigued her, and she was looking quite forward to it. Turning off the lamp on her bedside table, she closed her eyes and willed the night to become day very, very soon.

"I will miss you dearly, sweetheart." Narcissa Malfoy stroked her son's hand affectionately as they sat at her small table in the garden as they always did, watching the sun descend behind the horizon. "I am so proud of you, Draco, I hope you know that. I am happy that you will be going and learning to the best of your ability. You have the potential to surpass even my expectations and become the greatest Malfoy this world has ever had the pleasure of knowing. But…" she sighed, obviously upset at having to part with her only son, the only one who seemed to listen to her these days. "I will miss being there to see you grow up. Of course, there is always Christmas and Easter, but it won't be the same as having you here at home with me. You won't have me and…well…" Now Draco watched as he knew she was getting to what she really wanted to tell him. "I fear that you shall become just as cold and cruel as your father." Turning to face him fully, she looked him straight in the eye and said, "Promise me, Draco. Promise me that you will continue to stay the same sweet, gentle, and kind boy you have always been."

Draco merely stared at his mother, shocked at her sudden display of emotion. The truth was that he didn't want to promise something he wasn't sure he would be able to keep, and he knew his mother wasn't daft. He knew she could see the change that had already started to develop within him just this past summer. Perhaps that was why she had chosen now to lecture him about his morals. They both knew perfectly well that he had a reputation to uphold as a Malfoy. He had to act the part, and by acting the part as often as he would have to, he wasn't sure he wouldn't lose himself in the role. This was something he'd had on his mind for months now, in fact—not that he would ever admit that to his mother who thought so highly of him. She was the only one he could truly trust; the only one who looked at him with admiration rather than expectation. The look in her eyes spoke of an unconditional love. She would love him even if he did change, and that's what made him realize he couldn't just go and break her heart. And so he nodded and put a hand atop hers and vowed, "I promise, Mother. I will do my very best." And with that, he bid her good night and retired to his room in anticipation of tomorrow's train ride.

As she watched him walk back within the walls of Malfoy Manor, she truly hoped he would find someone he could trust whilst at Hogwarts; someone he could trust to be himself around as much as he was with her, or perhaps…perhaps even more.

Draco switched out his day wear for his comfortable emerald cotton pajamas before turning the lights off and climbing into bed. His mind revisited the conversation he'd just had with his mother. He truly hoped he would be able to fulfill her wishes and make her proud without turning into his father.

As he rolled onto his side and closed his eyes, he remembered her; the mudblood. He knew he shouldn't have been curious or at all interested in someone with dirty blood; however, while he had shared the same beliefs with his father about their blood, he had never actually come face-to-face with one before. He wanted to know why others chose to even associate themselves with such filth. But when her wand had chosen her, he was stunned. Absolutely stunned. He had never felt so incredible in his life, and he wasn't sure what to think. It didn't take a genius to see that wand was powerful, but when Ollivander told her just how powerful it was, he became more curious about the mudblood than he probably should be. Just who was she, and how had such a wand picked her of all people? What could be so special about someone with dirty blood? It made no sense at all.

And he couldn't help but feel just the slightest bit of jealousy begin to arise within him for the very first time in his life. Hopefully, it would be the last.

"We're going to be late! Hurry! Mum, Dad, will you please hurry up?"

Eliza came over and placed a hand on her shoulder, clearly amused. "Hermione, dear. You set your clock back so that you would wake up earlier, don't you remember? We still have approximately half an hour to get there, and it only takes ten minutes in the first place. Why don't you drink this tea I made for you? It will calm your nerves." Blinking in confusion, Hermione let her words sink in before sitting down and taking the tea gently.

"You're right. I did do that, didn't I?" Hermione was beside herself, having rarely ever forgotten anything in her life, and had to giggle at her little outburst. Perhaps she was a bit more anxious than she originally thought she was. Robert and Elizabeth emerged from their bedroom soon after, fresh and ready to take on the day as they smiled down at their daughter. She hasn't been this excited about something since her first day of school, and they both knew why school wasn't so fun anymore for someone with her bright mind. They wish they could have called it boredom, but it went much deeper than that.

"Alright, are we ready?" Hermione jumped up from her seat on the couch. The tea had calmed her nerves, alright. Now she was purely eager to get a move on.

Robert grabbed the keys off the rack and shook them over his head to display that he was ready, and Elizabeth nodded hesitantly. "Ready." Everyone could see the hesitation on Elizabeth's eyes and before she knew it, Hermione was hugging her fiercely.

"I know it's hard, Mum," she sighed. "I'm going to miss you, too. But I'll be home for Christmas and Easter! And I promise to write every chance I get. So please, don't look so sad. It won't be forever, and we have all summer! Just think of this as me going to college a little earlier than expected."

Elizabeth had to laugh at her daughter's logic. It was true. She would have had to go through this very same parting sooner or later. But at 11 years old? It was 7 years sooner than they had expected. Where had all the time gone? She was surely going to miss her little girl, but couldn't deny the fact that she was excited that her little girl would be able to have an adventure. Her life would definitely not be boring. So she hugged her little girl hard before letting her go and straightening up. "Alright, then. What are we waiting for? We don't want her to miss her train, now do we?"

Everyone smiled then, and off they went. In the car, Eliza held Hermione's hand firmly and shook it with excitement. "Think about it, Hermione. You'll come back a completely different person. We can talk about so many different things that I haven't been able to speak to my parents about in forever. I almost feel as though I'm going back to Hogwarts with you! Oh, how I wish I could. You'll absolutely love Professor McGonagall. She's the head of Gryffindor house, and the professor for Transfiguration. She's quite possibly the most brilliant professor there, aside from the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, that is. Now for your first year, you'll only be taking what I like to call 'gen eds'. Like college, they're the basic topics you need to be well versed in. I'm sure you'll excel in all of your classes, however. I've been watching you reading your books like the little bookworm you are."

Eliza went on and on…and on…and on...and Hermione just decided to try and tune her out. For once she wasn't too keen on hanging onto her cousin's every word, seeing as her cousin continued to repeat herself and tell Hermione things that she'd heard from Eliza all summer. She didn't mean to be rude, but there were times when she felt as though Eliza were a bit more excited about this than Hermione herself was, and that was saying something. It was as Eliza began to go through all the different houses that she realized she'd forgotten to ask her cousin one of the most basic questions. "Eliza." Said witch hushed. "You never did tell me what house you had been in."

Eliza went very still. "And what brought this about?"

"Well, you told me about that dark wizard…You-Know-Who? It occurred to me awhile back that you would have been in school during his reign, but it slipped my mind until now. I was just wondering what things were like for you. The war would be very different depending on what house you were in, correct?"

Hermione watched as Eliza pursed her lips, licking them nervously. Finally, under the 11-year-old's stare, she caved in. "I was in Slytherin." Hermione was shocked; she would have expected Eliza to be put in any house except that one. But then, Hermione did think back on it. Eliza was very cunning and clever, and she constantly wore emerald green which Hermione had learned were the colors of Slytherin house. "Don't get the wrong idea. Not all Slytherins are evil like most tend to think. I never took part in You-Know-Who's campaign. As soon as the war started, I actually joined a rebellion known as The Order. Dumbledore was in it, and so were Harry Potter's parents. They were wonderful people…" Hermione watched as a reminiscent look loomed over Eliza's face, wondering how close she had been to them. To have lost someone you care about must be very hard. No matter what world you happened to be in, war was always the same. Different sides with different morals battling against each other. Death was eminent. It wasn't until a few moments later that Hermione realized that her cousin had begun talking once more. "Many Slytherins were cowards, however, and went into hiding. I see them every now and again, but they tend to keep to themselves, and I don't blame them. They have families to protect, and everyone knows that there are still those loyal to You-Know-Who who would do anything to get revenge on people who weren't on the Dark Side."

The rest of the ride seemed to be less energetic than the beginning, leaving Hermione to her thoughts. Just before they arrived, Hermione thought aloud, "I wonder what house I'll be in." Though Eliza had been in Slytherin and turned out alright, Hermione was scared. She didn't want to be in that house. After all, Eliza had told her of most purebloods. They seemed to ridicule anyone who had dirty blood. She didn't want to go back to a world where she was bullied. That was never fun. And even if she didn't get into Slytherin, what would others think of her? After all, her favorite color just so happened to be green, and she wouldn't change that just to make people like her. Still, they would think she was siding with the Slytherins and then she would really belong nowhere.

Eliza seemed to see her internal war and smiled, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder as she always had. "Whichever house you will be sorted into, they will be lucky to have you. However, I have a sneaking feeling I know exactly which house you'll be put in. Ah-ah!" She cut off Hermione with a wave of her finger. "That is for me to think and you to find out. Alrighty?" Hermione closed her mouth and nodded with a smile, suddenly feeling better as they pulled into the parking lot of King's Crossing and made their way inside. Hurrying along, they passed Platforms 1…2…3…8…9…"Alright, we're here." Hermione and her parents looked around, very confused indeed. They were standing in the middle of Platforms 9 and 10, but saw no 9 ¾. "Remember that secret I told you all about?" They nodded. "Follow me." She stood in front of Platform 9's pillar…and then she walked right through it and disappeared.

"That…is so cool..." Hermione exclaimed in a hushed voice before running after her cousin before either of her parents could stop her. This amazing feeling she felt right now…she knew it was something she would never forget. One minute she was in King's Crossing, and the next she was in some newly lit magical platform. She stared at the long, red train and read: Hogwarts Express Platform 9 ¾. "This…is so cool!" She was speechless. She felt a bump and realized she was blocking the entry way, and moved to make room for her parents. She watched their expressions turn from fear of running into a brick wall to astonishment at what they saw before them, and couldn't help but laugh before Eliza called them over.

"Hermione! Robert! Lizzie! Come! You're blocking the entrance and we need to get Hermione settled on the train soon." She grabbed Hermione's trunk and handed it to the red-head next to her. "Here, Fred. Make yourself useful and put that into the trunk compartment, won't you?"

"Nice to see you too, Eliza," he grinned. Behind him came another red-head…that looked exactly like him.

"You have a clone!" she screamed, causing many to stare at her.

Fred smiled and patted his identical on the head. "Yup! I made him specially to look and act exactly like me. We even think the same thing at the same time and finish each other's sentences, too. Isn't that the coolest?"

Eliza smacked them both on the back of their heads in irritation before scolding them. "Now, one more word from you two and I'll be telling your mother. Not your parents. Your mother. Hermione, dear, they're twins. Not everything you see in the magical world is magic. Some of it is pure biology. Quite a lot of it, now that I think about it, but you understand."

Hermione blushed, feeling quite embarrassed. "I-I'm so sorry. This whole magic idea is still new to me."

"Well, you've got a good head on your shoulders, little lady," said the other red-head, it being the first time he'd spoken since coming around and causing chaos. "Most muggleborns feint on their very first day just from walking through the wall. Many tend to even go a bit mad." Eliza shot them a look and they raised their hands in surrender, letting Hermione know they were just trying to get under her skin once more. "Anyhow, glad to see you enjoying yourself, Hermione. Here, Fred, let me take the little lady's things."

Fred handed the trunk over and said, "Good thinking, George! Wouldn't want to strain my arm after last night's quidditch match." As George walked away with Hermione's trunk, a red-headed girl perhaps a year or so younger than Hermione walked over to Fred and glared. "What is it, little sister?"

"You're not Fred, you're George!" she accused, confusing Hermione once again. "Fred didn't hurt himself trying to flip off his broom and do cartwheels in the air. That was you, George."

Fred—er—George sighed and patted his little sister on the head before shoving her back over to their parents. "Sorry about that," George smiled. "Fred and I like to switch every so often to keep things interesting. We managed to fool our mother a bit earlier with that little switch going through the pillar., and she about wanted to rip our heads clean off our shoulders."

"How on earth is it possible to do cartwheels in the air?" Hermione blurted out before thinking about it.

George just stared at her for a moment before winking. "I'll show you sometime, little lady. But right now we really should board the train before it decides to take off without us wonderfully talented and good-looking folk. Come, I'll show you 'round." Smiling, Hermione turned around and gave her parents hugs and kisses before bidding them farewell and following George. They both walked down the path and into a compartment. Fred, who she until recently had thought was George, was sitting there along with another boy and girl, who both had light brown hair. "Hello Fred, Katie, Oliver." When Fred gave him a confused look, George rolled his eyes. "Outed by the little sister. Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned the bit about quidditch last night."

Fred agreed. "Well, hello there, Hermione. I'm the real Fred Weasley. This is Katie Bell and Oliver Wood. Oliver, Katie, this is Hermione Granger." Before Hermione could ask them how they knew her last name, he continued. "We've known your cousin Eliza since we were babes in diapers. Something about her and our mother bonding in The Order, which I'm sure, she must have told you about. She would always talk about her cousin's daughter. A little girl with bushy brown hair and an excellent mind. You should have heard when she found out you were a witch. We couldn't get rid of her."

"I can only imagine," she laughed.

"So, little girl with an excellent mind," George smirked, leaning forward. "Does this mean we could get you to do our homework at all?"

While Katie and Oliver scolded the two for asking such a question, Hermione merely blinked. Of course, they were teasing her; expecting her to blush and be a timid first year. Well…while she didn't want to be known as a know-it-all, per say, she most certainly wasn't going to be the little girl everyone expected her to be. "Now boys." Everyone shushed and listened to her. "Just because I'm more brilliant than most and have memorized all of my text books down to the very last punctuation mark, and that I have performed every spell I've cast flawlessly, or that I could save your life in a matter of moments given the right equipment does not mean that I will be doing anyone's homework other than my own. I may just have to hex your pants off the next time you ask such an absurd question of a first year. Am I clear?"

At first, they all just stared at her in shock. Then, Fred leaned in ever so gently to his twin's ear and muttered, "Can I marry her?"

His counterpart leaned back and whispered, "Only if you want to be put into a Full Body Bind every time you forget to take out the trash, mate."

Everyone began to laugh then and Hermione was able to ease into a normal conversation. She sat there, listening to all the things they had done over the summer, and she was very appreciative that they answered her questions seriously - well, as seriously as the twins could be - when she wanted to understand some of the words they'd been using. Finally, she knew what quidditch was and, due to her fear of heights, knew she would NOT be taking part in such a sport that didn't involve her feet being firmly planted on the ground. They had invited her to watch some of their practices, however, and she thought it would be interesting to view from a distance. She was quite excited about it, actually.

"So," Fred said. "Does anyone want to here something juicy?" Hermione rolled her eyes, sure that he was about to make up some stupid joke about juice. "Harry Potter is on this train." Everyone stilled then. Hermione stared at him, waiting for him to crack and say it was a joke, but this time he was completely serious and her hopes rose. Of course, she had heard the rumors that Harry Potter had finally returned to the wizarding world, and she had even calculated that this could most definitely be the year he turns eleven as well. However, she had always found it trivial to put hope in a rumor. After all, it wasn't as though her calculations were always correct…just most of the time.

"And how exactly did you come across this bit of information?" she asked, still skeptical of the twins. If they were lying, she was going to have their heads. They had inserted an excitement in her little heart that was threatening to burst. After all, she'd read everything about him from the books Eliza had given her as light reading to while away the summer, and she was quite fascinated as to how he had survived something no other wizard had been able to before. She'd gone through many different possibilities, such as his parents or someone close to them such as Dumbledore casting a protective charm no one else knew about on him or even an enchanted artifact to keep him safe. She also found it quite alarming and a bit sad that he had no idea until this very summer who he was. He wasn't a muggleborn like her; he shouldn't have had to live in the dark. She supposed it was a good thing that he knew now, however, and that was all that really mattered.

George's voice jarred her from her thoughts. "We met him. Saw his scar and all when we were helping him with his trunk, much like how we helped with yours. It was bloody incredible!"

"George, language 'round the little one," Fred teased.

Hermione rolled her eyes at that, but before she had a chance to respond, a rounded boy with a frightened face entered their compartment and looked around frantically. "H-have any of you seen a toad? I seem to have lost mine and if I don't find him, my grandmother will beat me 'til I'm black and blue."

They all shook their heads, and the boy's face dropped even more, if that were possible. Hermione, sympathy taking over, stood and looked at the others. She always was a sucker for the underdog. "I'm going to help him look for his toad. It'll give me something to do other than listen to the two of you going on about trivial things." Then she stared at the boy and stared him up and down. "What's your name?"

"N-Neville. Neville Longbottom."

She noted it with a nod and said, "Right. I'm Hermione Granger. Pleasure to meet you. Now, shall we go find that toad of yours?"

They searched up and down the train, Hermione asking random questions of the wizarding world as they did so. She may have read books upon books, but hearing about it from other witches and wizards who had lived in this world their entire lives was fascinating, and even hearing from the upperclassmen muggleborns of their experiences were very inspiring. By the time the sun was setting, Hermione had decided that she wanted to be put in Gryffindor, barely noting that it was her cousin Eliza's rival house.

She went to open yet another compartment door in the hopes of finding out where Trevor the Toad had hopped off to, unexpecting a familiar face. "Has anyone seen a t…oad?" She hadn't meant to hesitate. In fact, she hadn't even been aware she had done so. She was aware, however, of the blonde boy near the window—the one she had bumped into at the entrance of Ollivander's. By the look he was giving her, it was obvious that he had remembered her as well. After getting over the initial shock, Hermione pursed her lips and nodded at the boy. He blinked for a moment before following suit and looking over at his two rather large boys companions sat across from him. She presumed they were first years as well.

"Ain't seen a toad," one said.

"Yeah," the other grunted. Then, as an afterthought, he added, "Even if we did, why would we care about telling an ugly and a fatso?"

Hermione was quite taken aback by this snarky comment. She had been called many things, and ugly happened to be one of those, but it most definitely had not been used as a noun. Once she caught the blonde boy's smirk of approval towards them, she began to realize just what Eliza had been telling her about some 'pureblood' families. They were cruel, alright, and Hermione was not going to be humiliated in front of them before she had even stepped foot in Hogwarts. And so she straightened herself and looked at them in disgust.

"For one," she began in such a hostile tone that it made even the blonde boy stop to pay attention. "There is no such thing as an ugly. Ugly is an adjective, not a noun, so if you so choose to describe one as 'ugly' use it in the correct terms as to not make yourselves look more daft than I presume you already are. And for two, neither of you are anywhere near eligible to use the term 'fatso' on anyone other than yourselves, seeing as this train would move ten times faster without the two of you on it. Honestly, you both are larger than the rest of the people on this train put together. It can't be healthy, you know."

"And you." She turned her attention towards the blonde boy now, not caring about the look of disgust on his face any longer. She had decided that it wasn't worth her time to try. "Malfoy." The look of shock on his already pale facial features at the sound of his name coming from her mouth made it all worth it. "I presume you're a bit brighter than these two, at least I sure do hope so. You might want to dumb down my insults for them. They look a little lost. Now, if you all don't mind, Neville and I must be going. We have much more important things to do other than deal with bullies who don't know north from south. Let's go, Neville." With one last look at the blonde, she turned on her heel and dragged Neville away.

Draco Malfoy could only stare after her, his mouth hanging wide open. After realizing what the situation must look like, he quickly pursed his lips together before the other two could see him turned speechless by a mudblood. Not that he needed to worry about the two dimwits for the time being; they were just as dumbstruck as he was. He'd never thought that a mudblood would know his family name, much less that particular mudblood. Now he only had more questions surfacing to the forefront of his mind. While he definitely hated her for having obtained that wand, he couldn't deny that perhaps it had chosen the right person. Who was she? He was most determined to find out.

Hermione Granger was a force to be reckoned with after that. She glared at anyone who seemed to be the least bit nasty towards her or Neville, going to every compartment they passed to see where the bloody hell Trevor had gotten to. They were nearing school and Neville was growing more desperate by the minute, making Hermione more determined. As she went to open another compartment, Neville spoke. "I've checked that one already."

She shrugged and opened it anyway. "Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one." Her eyes fell onto the wand the red-headed boy held in his hand, however, and she immediately forgot why she was there in the first place. He might have said something to her, but she spoke out of turn. "Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see then." She sat down right next to him, waiting for him to continue. She vaguely wondered if he were a brother of the twins, seeing as they had mentioned a little brother starting his first year as well. She was also quite interested to see how experienced other first years would be. After all, she didn't want to be called the know-it-all once again. It wasn't that she cared what most people thought of her, but it would be nice to have at least one friend this year. The blonde was definitely a no go; his pureblood persona would definitely land him in Slytherin. A pang of guilt came over her as she remembered Eliza's words. Not all Slytherins were terrible, after all.

"Er—alright." Her focus turned back to the boy, and she watched as he pointed his wand at the ragged looking rat on his lap and cleared his throat. "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow…turn this stupid fat rat yellow!" Nothing happened.

After a moment of silence as they all stared at the still gray rat, Hermione spoke up. "Are you sure that's a real spell? 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." Of course, by a few she meant as many as she could before that letter from the Ministry informing her of the underage magic restriction. She was hoping she'd be able to further her practice outside of classes whilst there. As she continued to talk of her accomplishments such as memorizing the entire course book and such, she found that it was hard to stop. She always got like this when meeting people for the first time. Here she was, just trying to prove herself and in the end she just sounded like a pompous know-it-all that no one wanted to get to know. In all the rush, she completely forgot to introduce herself. "I'm Hermione Granger, by the way. Who are you?"

"I'm Ron Weasley." Of course; she wouldn't be surprised if the twins were the ones who had given him that spell.

"Harry Potter."

Her full attention turned to him. So it was true. "Are you really?" She couldn't believe it. She was actually sitting across from the famous Harry Potter—someone that until now she had only ever read about in books. She had always wanted to meet someone she had read about in a book, and now here she was! In her excitement, she began to ramble once more—this time about everything she had read about him and what books he had been in. He was so astonished she could hardly believe it. Just how long had he known about the wizarding world? A day?! If it had been her, she would have gotten her hands on any bit of information pertaining to who she was. And she told him just this. Then she went on to talk about what house they thought they would be in. Finally, she noticed Neville become ever so fidgety and decided it was best to take off before she made an even bigger fool of herself. She vaguely reminded them to change seeing as they were nearing school grounds, and began to backtrack their way through compartments to see if any new information about the toad had surfaced.

They reached Malfoy's compartment once more and Hermione took a deep breath while Neville decided to hang back from this one. She couldn't blame the poor boy as she entered to see the ever sneering faces of the blonde and his companions once more. "I am trying to be civil, boys. Now, are you sure none of you have seen a toad jumping around for even a possible second?"

The young Malfoy heir growled, "Alright, if we're being cordial—" She had to hide her shock as he used above-average vocabulary. "—what do we get if we tell you?"

Oh, they were talking business, were they? It did seem a bit ironic that this was how a Granger and a Malfoy were trading information. Of course, he wasn't aware that her family's name was Granger, the same Granger family that did business with his own. Then again, she hadn't known the Malfoy's were so cold because they were pureblooded wizards and her family was muggle. She had always just thought most businessmen acted that way towards one another. She did feel a bit more empowered with information he didn't have yet.

Before she could answer his question, however, Neville surprisingly interrupted. "W-we'll tell you where Harry Potter is sitting!" Hermione turned back to him wide-eyed, and saw the instant regret in his sheepish eyes. Great, now they were selling people out just for a stupid toad.

Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy was thinking. Of course, his father would destroy him if he didn't take the chance to befriend the famous boy-who-lived, even if it did happen to be the very boy that put his father's leader to rest some years ago. And so he lied. "Well, if that's the case…we did happen to see a toad making its slimy way to the back with the trunks." The boy ran as fast as his feet would move, leaving Hermione on her own. The blonde stared her down with as much intimidation as he could muster and demanded, "Now then, where is Harry Potter?"

Hermione sighed. She had no choice, she supposed. As much as she hated giving Harry Potter to the likes of him…"He's sitting down that way in the third one to the back. Thank you for your cooperation…Malfoy."

Draco stared at her for a moment, as if silently demanding that she tell him how on earth she knew his name. If this kept up, Crabbe and Goyle were surely going to let their parents know and that would get back to his father, who would question him and suspect him of being civil to a mudblood. That would not be a lovely conversation to have…definitely. He could only glare at her as she walked off with another roll of her eyes. He could swear she did that almost as much as he smirked. What was it, her trademark for annoying the bloody hell out of people? "Well, come on, you two brutes. Let's go welcome the famous celebrity, why don't we?"

Without another word, they followed the tiny blonde down to said compartment. As Malfoy opened it, he was a bit shocked to see the boy from Madam Malkin's. Great, was all he could think as it dawned on him that he was Harry Potter. Many thoughts began to run through his mind, all of which telling him that he had no chance at all of befriending this boy. Still, he had to give it a go. So he tried to be…well…excited, one would say. "Is it true? They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment! So it's you, is it?" Harry Potter said a simple 'yes' and the blonde noticed him looking not at him, but at the two thugs on either side of him. Well, they sure didn't help his situation, now did they?

"Oh, this is Crabbe and Goyle," he sighed, not bothering to care. Then he turned to Potter with all the confidence his father exuded when professionally introducing himself to someone he was trying to become acquainted with. "And I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." As soon as the red-head next to Potter began to laugh at his first name, he sneered. He knew he couldn't pass up the chance to belittle a Weasley. "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys' have red hair, freckles and more children than they can afford." Turning back to Potter, he completely forgot that he was trying to be nice and smirked. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." He held out his hand, but realized his mistake as soon as Potter refused to take it.

"I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thank you."

Well, he blew it. Oh well, that didn't mean he couldn't still cause mayhem. "I'd be careful if I were you, Potter. Unless you're a bit more polite, you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."

The Weasley began to threaten him, and Potter stood to back him up. Draco wanted to laugh. Instead, he started to taunt them, making himself at home and looking through all of their snacks. After all, he was starving and Crabbe and Goyle had already eaten everything in their own compartment. Just as he was really on a roll, however, he heard a scream come from one of the giant oafs and the next thing he knew, they were running out like a pair of monkeys. He had no reason to stay after that, pissed off that they had made him look like a fool, and so he hurried after them.

As he became lost in his thoughts, he bumped into someone and they both fell back. "Watch where you're going, would you?!" he growled, very irritated at the moment. He grimly took the hand offered to him and began to storm off, but as he looked back at the person he had collided with, he met the chocolate brown eyes of that bushy haired girl again. He had accepted her hand without even thinking. Great. Just…great. He wiped his hand in disgust and continued on, feeling her gaze burn a hole into his back.

Hermione watched the boy for a moment, wondering why she had given him a second thought at all during summer. He was just turning out to be like every other bully she'd encountered. What made her think anything would be different about this boy? Well, nothing could be helped. On that note, she turned to the compartment he had emerged from to check on Harry Potter and the Weasley brother to make sure they were alright. It turned out that Malfoy and his goons had been trying to stir up trouble, as expected. The other two were fine, however. The Weasley was alright enough to be rude to her, after all. Why couldn't he be more like his brothers—friendly?

"You'd better hurry and put your robes on," she sighed, wondering why they hadn't changed when she first told them to. "I've just been up front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there." The Weasley brother said more rude things to her once she asked about the fighting, blaming it on his pet rat. She merely rolled her eyes and continued. "All right—I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors." She went to leave when she noticed something on the red-head's face. "And you've got dirt on your nose. Did you know?" Then she was gone.

On her way back, she became aware of a certain blonde staring at her from his compartment. Ignoring what she was sure to be an unpleasant face, she found her way back to the twins and the other two quidditch players, waiting the rest of the ride out in peace.

The end of Chapter 3! I hope you all enjoyed it! Thanks to all of you who have waiting patiently. Please remember to review and all that jazz~