Harry had dreamed about going to Hogwarts, ever since his father had first told him about his time there, his mother as well. Hogwarts was simply going to be an amazing part of his future, and he was going to have the time of his life there. He was going to become Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team like his father, and he was going to do excellent in school like his mother and do something with his life afterwards. His parents had taught him to live his life to the fullest, every day of it. Today was the first step in that direction.

The hitch in his otherwise perfect Hogwarts experience seemed to be Malfoy. That blood traitor should not be allowed to grace the halls of Hogwarts. The other Death Eaters family's went into hiding or killed themselves after Voldemort's defeat in the First Wizarding War. The Malfoy family—Draco's mother always denied her approval of her husband's choices even though she married him right before Voldemort's rise to power began. Lucius Malfoy had come into a lot of money and very quickly. It looked suspicious that she got with him, at that particular time, and yet when Lucius was caught red handed, his wife denied her support. She was released only because she did not have the Dark Mark inked into her arm.

Malfoy's father was a traitor, and his mother was a traitor in her marriage. Draco was born from both of them and Harry had been told time and again that those sorts of children are going to end up like their parents. Harry didn't know all there was to know about the war, just that most of the people he called family were involved, especially his parents.

As Harry got himself together for that morning, he particularly took the time and made a special effort in donning his red and gold tie. He was so very proud of those colors. When he was dressed, he noticed Neville and Ron were still sleeping. He shook their curtains and kicked their bed frames until they both shouted at him to stop it. He waited in the common room at the bottom of the stairs for them to be ready. That Granger girl was sitting in a chair by the fire. She was dressed for the day, though her hair looked like it had never been brushed before. He figured it was just naturally that way. He remembered the look on her face last night, when Ron had insulted her before the sorting, and again after they were sorted. He didn't really feel like she deserved it, but she also had no business hanging out with Malfoy either. He probably took her brain or something.

She looked up when she felt eyes on her, at first she just blinked at him, he noticed the lines under her eyes. "How long have you been up?" He asked, his mouth pulled sideways into a half-smile. She looked back at her book, tilted her head, and then shrugged her shoulders.

"A f—" she cleared her throat, "a few minutes, maybe an hour." She looked outside, seeing that the sun still hadn't risen fully yet. She wet her lips and went back to reading. Harry chuckled faintly and curiously moved next to her chair to see what she was reading. She warily watched him but then went back to her reading. He recognized it as one of their textbooks, but he couldn't remember which subject it went to.

"Aren't we only supposed to read it when the professor tells us to?" He asked, she flinched at his voice like she didn't expect it.

"I wanted to read ahead."

"Yeah, but you're more than halfway done with the book. It's the first day of class, isn't that a bit much?" He didn't mean to sound like a jerk, but the way she snapped her book shut, told Harry he had struck a nerve.

"It is up to me how much I read, not you, Harry Potter," she spat his name at him as she stuffed the book into her bag—which was bulging with her other books—and she stormed out of the common room.

He supposed she saved herself doing that, because once the portrait had swung shut from her exit, Neville and Ron joined him in the common room. He decided not to hurry them to the Great Hall, like he wanted to, but he got them chatting about their schedules for the day to give the nerdy girl a head start. McGonagall had told them to drop the fight last night, and as far as Harry was concerned, Malfoy was better left ignored, but Ron never knew when to quit teasing anyone and he seemed to like teasing Granger.

After an appropriate amount of time passed, Harry finally brought up breakfast and his two friends left the common room. When they reached the Great Hall, it wasn't completely full like last night had been, but breakfast was already served. Harry spotted Granger sitting by herself amid a few older kids, who either didn't notice her or ignored her, and Harry got him and his two friends to sit well away from her. He didn't look for Malfoy, Harry told himself that boy was a waste of time and nothing good was going to come by from talking to him.

/

Draco woke up with the images of his nightmare still present in his mind's eye. He was in a cold sweat, and panting heavily. Luckily, his curtains were still closed so no one in the dorm could hear him. He slid out from his covers and sat in his pajamas and ran his fingers through his hair. Draco had only seen old pictures of his father, and in every one of them he was scowling, or sneering. His mother sometimes made comments when Draco was angry that he looked just like his father doing that, and he hated it. During his dreams, he always became his father, and made all the same wrong choices and turned evil. Draco was determined not to, but those dreams always made that goal feel pointless.

Once he calmed down enough, he slipped out of his bed and got dressed. He had always imagined him getting put into Slytherin, so when he picked up his blue and silver tie, it was hard to understand how it had happened. All Draco had been muttering when the hat was put on him, to not put him into Slytherin, to just please, please, please anything but Slytherin. Miraculously, the old hat had listened to him. He didn't even imagine what his mother, a proud pureblooded Slytherin, was going to think when she found out. Draco sighed as he fixed the tie into place.

Oh well. Draco was glad to not be in Slytherin, he didn't want to be associated with his father, at all.

The other boys in his room were still sleeping. At the dinner table last night, the other boys in his class spoke to him and they seemed alright. Draco left quietly and went into the common room with his book bag. He was excited for his potions class with Snape. He didn't know about any of the other professors, but he was excited to meet Snape—the hero, the Slytherin, the Misunderstood. Draco just had a feeling Snape would understand his situation, and not judge him like everyone else.

Draco decided not to hang around the common room and went to the Great Hall. He was halfway down the steps when he saw Potter and his lackeys walking down the steps. Draco ducked back into the hallway and took a deep breath to quell his anger. He had a feeling that they would take it upon themselves to make his life here hell, and he hated being outnumbered. All three of them came from pureblood families—though Weasley's family is known by everyone to be poor—and powerful. All of their parents had been aurors, and in the Order of the Phoenix for crying out loud! Draco wasn't strong enough to take on all of them in a fight. He remembered what Weasley had said to Hermione about her hair, and his fists clenched in his robe pockets. The red headed git had no right going after her.

He drew in a deep breath as he thought about Hermione with a small smile. She had known about the wizarding world for all of four days, but she had still jumped to her feet and clapped when he got sorted into Ravenclaw, even though no one did—and what Ravenclaw did to welcome him hardly counted as clapping. She didn't judge him and had stood up for him, twice now. He decided that, no matter what happened to him, he wasn't going to let Weasley, Potter, or Longbottom bully her. He had no control over what happened in the Gryffindor common room, but elsewhere in the castle, he decided he was going to protect her.

With his new found resolve, he went back into the staircase and trotted down the stairs. The three other boys had gotten quite a ways ahead of him, but they reached the Great Hall at about the same time. Draco spotted Hermione's wild hair almost instantly along the Gryffindor table and he moved to sit as close to her has he could, like last night. The boys had sat closer to the entrance to the Hall. Draco wasn't sure if they had even seen her or not, which was good. She had her face in her book and didn't notice his arrival.

"Granger," Draco called. She jumped slightly at her name and looked left and right for the person to call her name, she didn't turn around though. "Behind you," he monotoned. She looked over her shoulder at him, turning in her seat, and smiled slightly.

"Morning Malfoy," she said. She looked pretty tired.

"Morning. How is Gryffindor?" He asked, hoping they had left her alone.

"It is okay. The bed is really soft. The other first year girls seem nice…" she trailed off as she looked around for them, she didn't see them and then leaned across the walkway to confide in him, "they told me to not be your friend. But don't worry, they don't know what they are talking about." As she had begun to speak, his stomach dropped at the idea of losing his only friend, especially because of his promise he had made to himself earlier, but then what she had said caused him to smile.

"Thank you." He said. Someone walked their way so Hermione had to lean back up. She leaned in again.

"How was your first night as a Ravenclaw? Have you told your mother?" She asked. Draco scowled faintly, remembered who he looked like when he did that, and then sighed.

"No one spoke to me in the common room, but the first year boys seemed…not as hateful as some." He glanced in Potter's direction. "And no, I haven't. I….don't want to know what she thinks about it. I mean I'm—"

"The first Malfoy to not be in Slytherin. Big deal," she waved her hand, "there is always a first for something." She was sure of herself. The three other Ravenclaw boys sat down around Draco and glanced between him and Hermione.

"Morning," Terry Boot said with a smile, his hair was still wet from a bath. Hermione smiled slightly at the three boys.

"Good morning," intoned Michael Corner and the third boy, Anthony Goldstein simply nodded his head.

"Yes," quipped Draco, "it is." Hermione had turned back to her food already, and had her nose back into her book. The three boys were eagerly discussing their up and coming classes and they received Draco's input in stride. By the end of their breakfast, the four boys decided to walk to their first class of the day; Charms. When Draco stood with his….friends? No, acquaintances or Housemates; they weren't his friends yet. Hermione was still reading so Draco tapped her shoulder.

"I was heading to my first class and was wondering where yours is?" Draco asked her. She rubbed the corner of her eye as she closed her book.

"Charms, I think." She got herself ready to go and noticed Draco's grin. "What?"

"Me too!" He walked with her on his left, and the three Ravenclaw's in a mob sort of thing, to their Charms class with Professor Flitwick, who was the Head of Ravenclaw. When they got to his classroom, he was located standing on top of a precarious stack of books, directing everyone where to sit. The Slytherins and Hufflepuff first years had the left side of the room, and the Gryffindor and Ravenclaws had the right side. Draco and Hermione naturally gravitated towards the front of the row, and next to each other, and the other Ravenclaw boys sat directly behind them. The Potter and his shadows sat in the back upper corner, as far from Flitwick as they could get.

When the last student filtered in, Flitwick shut the door with a gesture of his wand and he began the lesson by closing the curtains behind him. He turned to the class. "Can anyone tell me what a charm is, exactly?" Draco glanced around the room, he knew what it was but he didn't want to be a kno—

Hermione's hand shot up in the air. Flitwick noticed and gestured for her to explain, "A charm is a spell that adds properties to an object or creature, but does not change what it is, like in transfigurations." Flitwick smiled and nodded.

"Yes, miss?"

"Granger, Professor Flitwick."

"Well done, Miss Granger, five points to Gryffindor." Hermione beamed at the teacher, but she didn't seem to notice the glares from the people around her.

"As Miss Granger said, charms change the function or property of things already in existence, such as the charm we will be practicing today, the Colour Change Charm." Flitwick waved his wand and small porcelain figurines moved from a box on the floor to in front of all of the students.

"I want everyone to practice the incantation with me. It is Colovaria. Co-loh-VA-ree-ah." Flitwick enunciated the pronunciation. Hermione had read about it earlier this morning and remembered how the book said to imagine what color you wanted it to change before you even got your wand out. Flitwick hadn't assigned a color yet, but she had hers in mind already.

Flitwick had the entire class repeat after him several times before he had them get their wands out. Hermione's felt like in her hand, but she was very excited to try her first charm. He gave the go ahead. She heard the kids around her say the incantation over and over again with no results. Hermione steeled herself before she attempted it.

She saw Draco watching her out of the corner of her eye. She drew in another breath before she pictured the vivid purple that was her favorite, and she said with conviction, "Colovaria," as she gestured with her wand towards the featureless porcelain figurine.

Her eyes were glued to the object, her breath in her throat. She waited…and waited….

It spread slowly from the top of the porcelain, and down the sides, but it changed colors. It went from being pearly white, to the deep purple she saw in her mind. She looked excitedly at Draco, who look surprised.

"Good job!" He offered, but he turned to his own to do his spell. He had seen how easy it was for Granger to do it, so he knew he could do it easily.

He raised his wand and pointed it at the object, just like Granger did, and said, "Colovaria." He waited just as long as Granger did but nothing happened. Hermione chewed her lip before she tapped the corner of his desk.

"Try thinking of the color before you say the spell," she said. He looked annoyed for only a second, before he nodded, and then tried again. He had time to inhale and exhale before his little figurine turned silver like it had been dipped in paint.

By that time, Flitwick had made his way around the room (he was floating on top of a book at desk level height), he caught sight of Draco's silver object and he exclaimed, "You sir have done it! Five points to Ravenclaw!" Hermione looked eagerly at her own figure and saw it had turned its normal color again.

She looked devastated for a second and then looked at Professor Flitwick, "I had changed its color, to purple! Why did it change, professor?" She asked.

"You must have lost concentration, my dear. Keep your focus!" He encouraged her, and then he moved on. Hermione pouted.

"Malfoy, you know I did it before you," she said. Draco smiled faintly at her and looked innocent.

"Yes, but I can't award points, now can I?" He laughed faintly, as did the Ravenclaw's behind him. Hermione glared at her figurine and when she did the incantation again, it turned black in her anger. When Flitwick came by again, he gave Gryffindor five points and congratulated her.

When the end of the class came around, Hermione and Draco had been the only two who had managed to change the color at all—one boy named Seamus Finnegan had somehow managed to explode his, which sent one Hufflepuff to the infirmary.

Draco knew he couldn't have gotten the charm as fast as he did, if Hermione hadn't given him that advice, but she was so annoyed that Flitwick had rewarded him first, that he kept that information to himself. It wasn't really that big of a deal who finished first anyway.