OOC/ I don't own it. This is more Hermione, because I just wasn't done in the last chapter, yet I don't want to make them too long. Lemme know how my Draco is, please!

The two days that followed were excruciatingly slow, but she spent time with her parents, as well as read through all her new books. She had finished Hogwarts; A History, and was almost through her Charms textbook when the sun rose on September First. After breakfast her parents drove her, and all her new things and Keema, to King's Cross Station.

Hagrid was waiting for them a Platform 9, just like he said. He explained the nature of what Hermione had to do to reach the correct platform, and that it also didn't work for muggles. Her parents hugged and kissed her goodbye and eventually, turned and went home. Hermione had tears in her eyes as she watched them go. A wizard family approached the platform and ran at the brick wall between 9 and 10 and she gasped in amazement as they disappeared, and as no one else seemed to notice. Hagrid chuckled.

"Magic," was all he offered in reply. He told Hermione to head straight at the wall and to get a good running start. He moved with her and had a hand over her shoulder as they crossed the gate. The amount of people on the platform 9 ¾s was hard to grasp for the eleven year old, but Hagrid helped her onto the train as best he could. He gave her a hug goodbye and then left her to her own devices on the train.

The bright faced witch found an empty compartment and started to lift her trunk full of possessions, but before she could get it over her head, her arms gave out and the entire thing fell to the ground in a volley of noises, she jumped back to avoid being hit with it. Someone over her shoulder chuckled and she turned to glare, it was Malfoy.

"Stop laughing and help me instead," she barked in annoyance as she moved around her trunk to the other side. He nodded-she didn't give him much of a choice-still smiling, and they lifted it together and stowed it overhead. She sat next to her owl, and he pulled in his possessions as well. She was about to help him lift his own trunk—a sleek black trunk with his initials emblazoned on it in gold—but he lifted it himself and he sat down with his chin tilted up faintly. She fought the urge to stick her tongue out at him—he may be stronger than her now, but he wasn't better than her.

"What house do you think you will be put in?" Hermione asked—having read all about Hogwarts in her book, she had a feeling she was going into Ravenclaw. Malfoy smiled and looked out the window, though something in his gaze was troubled.

"Well my parents were both in Slytherin…so I guess that is where I am going." He shrugged like he didn't much care where he went. She rolled her lips over her teeth and then couldn't stop her next question.

"Is it true, about the ghosts?" She asked, her brown eyes wide.

He looked at her for a moment, clearly not expecting her questions, though he nodded, "yeah. They spy on the students to make sure they behave and go to class, and even when they sleep. And they possess objects and suits of armor and throw things, and chase girls down the corridors." He smirked at her, which told her he was just trying to scare her.

"Well it isn't like I am going to miss one single class—not in all my years there." She swore solemnly. Malfoy laughed faintly.

"Who are your parents, Granger?" He asked, something seemed to drive him to the question but Hermione didn't really notice.

"They are dentists. They have a small practice in the village I am from. I had always thought I was going to be one like them, but now I guess not because I am a witch and it's so exciting!" She had to stop herself from clapping or squealing, although she didn't stop herself from bouncing a little. He ran his fingers through his slicked back blond hair.

"So you are muggleborn, then?" He asked. She nodded. "I'm a pureblood. I can trace my family bloodline all the way back to the first wizards and witches." He seemed really proud of it. Hermione was slightly jealous, but she was a witch now, same as him, her parents just weren't. Something Hagrid said itched at her and she chewed her lip. He noticed but didn't say anything.

A boy with round glasses stuck his head inside the compartment and looked first at Hermione, whom he smiled faintly at, and then glared at Malfoy, "Ew, I didn't know they let traitors go to Hogwarts."

"Shut it, Potter!" The boy scowled in return. The boy screwed his face up and then slammed the door shut. Hermione looked from the door and then to Malfoy. His arms were now folded across his chest and he was slumped back into the seat.

"What did he mean by traitor?" She asked quietly. Malfoy looked at her with that same scowl, but then he looked out the window.

"Just before we were born, there was an evil wizard. The most evil the world had ever seen before, and he had a following of wizards. My dad joined him after a while, and when he fell, my dad was arrested but my mom had nothing to do with it. She raised me by herself and I have never met my father. Ever. He is still in Azkaban and will always be there." He made a small noise, and she could tell he wasn't going to say another word about it. She nodded and leaned back in her own chair.

"Can we be friends?" Hermione asked him. He started at her sudden question and he turned to look at her slowly, a blank look on his face. He looked into her eyes for a moment before a smile returned to his face.

"I would like that." They shook on it. Not long later, the train let out a loud whistle and it started to roll out of the station. Hermione watched as they disappeared into a tunnel and then reemerged on the other side. As London disappeared behind them, they rode into the wilderness of northern England. Malfoy stayed quite for a while, when the Trolley arrived at the compartment door. Hermione's eyes widened at the sight of all the candy. Draco saw her expression and bought a lot of the candy for the both of them. The old woman smiled at them and moved on.

Draco handed her a chocolate frog first. "Careful though, it might get away," he said. She wrinkled her eyebrows at that but pulled the string to open the box. The frog croaked and jumped towards the window. She reacted quickly and caught it. As she closed her hand around it, she felt it solidify. When she looked at it again, it was a solid chocolate frog. Draco chuckled.

"Yeah, they only have one good jump in them," he was opening his own and nibbled on his frog as they rode on. They didn't talk about much, and after a while they had made a large dent in the candy, Hermione fell asleep with her head against the glass window.

A hand shook her awake after a while. When she opened her eyes, Draco was standing over her in his Hogwarts robes. "We are almost there, so time to change. There is a bathroom down the hall to change in—I think everyone is already changed now." She nodded eagerly and had to have his help getting her trunk down. When she grabbed her robes, she ran into the bathroom and changed. She made sure each pleat in her skirt was straight and her shirt was tucked in perfectly before she let the bathroom, with her clothes folded under her arm.

She wasn't used to wearing a cloak like that before and it felt heavy, but it was required so she would get used to it. Draco was eating some Berty Bott's Every Flavor Beans when she got back and he smiled when she walked in. "You look like a proper witch now," he said as he offered her some beans, she declined, and sat back and looked out the window again. The sun had set and it was too dark to see anything. She turned back to Draco and smiled.

"I can't wait to start taking classes. I have been reading my charms book, and I really really really want to get started." She nearly bounced in her seat again, he rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything at first.

"I don't think anyone should be that excited about learning," he said it in a teasing matter, but he did nod eventually, "I am looking forward to potions. I hear Dumbledore got Snape to teach it this year." Draco said excitedly. Hermione looked at him expectantly.

"Oh yeah. Sorry. Severus Snape single handedly defeated the Dark Lord in the War. He is so famous, I hear he doesn't leave his house, but he is famed to be the most brilliant potion master alive." Draco certainly was enthusiastic about meeting him, and Hermione could understand why. She smiled along with him. She honestly was as equally excited about all of her classes. She wanted to learn magic already!

Their conversation jumped around from then on, until the whistle sounded and the train started to slow. Then the both of them crammed their faces against the window to see the station roll up in front of them. Horseless carriages lined the station and Hermione saw a huge towering finger with a lantern waiting just off the platform. She recognized the shape before she saw any details and pointed. "Hagrid!" She said excitedly. Draco followed her eyes but didn't say anything.

When the brakes of the train released and the doors to the compartments and train opened, Draco took Hermione's hand and led her out of the train—after he hurriedly explained that they were supposed to leave their stuff on the train—and onto the platform.

"FIRST YEARS! FIRST YEARS, THIS WAY!" Hagrid bellowed over the heads of the children. Hermione and Draco weaved their way through the crowd to him and he smiled at Hermione, but got a warning expression in his eyes at Draco, who suddenly remembered he was holding Hermione's hand and he dropped it. A boy behind them hooted, which caused two other boys to laugh behind him. Hermione recognized the boy with glasses but not the other two.

"Potter. Longbottom. Weasley." Draco named them off. They sneered at him.

"Malfoy." Potter's voice held just as much malice as Draco's had. Hermione stepped between the four boys and pointed a finger at Potter—well the boy with glasses.

"Leave him alone! He hasn't done anything to you!" She said. Hagrid cleared his throat to get their attention and waved them all to follow him. He walked between Hermione, Draco, and the other boys. They followed the dirt path to a lake, where Hermione got her first look at Hogwarts, in all of its huge and magical glory. It was a proper castle and all the windows were lit with golden light.

The sight literally took her breath away. Draco nudged her along and into one of the many boats they were to ride across the lake. As she sat in the boat facing the castle she let out a shallow breath. "Pinch me." She said. Draco laughed and pinched her cheek. She slapped his hand away.

"Ow!" She shoved his arm and rubbed the spot simultaneously. He chuckled, but they had to move to make room for other first years. They didn't say anything else the ride across the lake and honestly, Hermione was too enthralled with the castle to say anything. She was here.

This was Hogwarts.