September rolled around, and with it came Hermione's sixth birthday. Her party was a much more lax affair than Draco's. The Malfoys were invited, along with most of the rest of the Grangers' neighbourhood.

Aside from Mr. Malfoy's hair, they looked remarkably muggle. They managed to blend in with the Grangers' friends, though they looked very well dressed. Hermione stared for a moment, unused to seeing Mr. Malfoy in anything but robes. Trousers were a bit of a shock.

She managed to wrench her gaze from Mr. Malfoy and focus on Draco. He looked much the same as always, dressed in a shirt and trousers suitable for running around and playing with friends. The main difference was that he held a box that seemed to be as large as he was.

"You're here!" she cried slamming into him with a hug just a few seconds after her mother had taken the present from him.

"Of course I did." Draco puffed out his chest as much as he could for only being six. "You didn't think I was going to let my best friend celebrate her birthday without me?"

"I didn't know Pansy was here," Hermione teased.

Draco glowered at her. Pansy had been infinitely more bearable since she had met Hermione, but Draco still preferred even Astoria to her. And no one their age really liked Astoria. She was too young.

As Hermione broke down into giggles, Draco's frown faltered. He knew that Hermione was teasing him. She was rather transparent when it came to teasing him. But, that might have been for his benefit. He wasn't sure.

"Come on. Let me introduce you to everyone," Hermione said. She dragged Draco over to where everyone else was congregating.

They were planning a game of hid and seek. Hermione wasn't sure where everyone would hide. There weren't that many places to hide in her house, let alone the yard. Malfoy manor had so many more convenient hiding spots.

"How do you play?" Draco asked.

Hermione was taken aback. With all the hiding places in his house, she would have thought it would have been a regular game. It just seemed so natural.

"One person counts to twenty and the rest hide," Hermione explained. "The goal is to be the last one hiding."

"Can we hide in the house?" a short mousy looking girl by the name of Emily asked.

Hermione shook her head. "Not a good idea. My mum wouldn't like it."

"Did she do the thing where she makes you clean your room even though no one's going to see it?"

Hermione nodded. While she was a tidy person by nature, she would have much rather just locked the door to her room and spent the time having fun instead. But most mothers were particular about cleaning before guests came over. No one was surprised by that.

"Alright then," a boy with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes said. Draco thought he had heard the name Jason tossed around. "We'll just have to be really good at hiding then."

A lanky boy, half a head taller than Draco was picked to count and seek. His name was Ethan, and he was around eight. He would likely find everyone quickly. The parents at least were hoping so.

There was a flurry of activity as children hurried to hide. They ducked under tables, hid behind parents and chairs, and scrambled into some of the less prickly bushes.

Hermione grabbed Draco's hand and pressed them into the side of the house. She held a finger to her lips signaling for Draco to be quiet. He did as directed, though thoroughly confused.

"Twenty."

The hunt was on. Draco watched in amazement as the seeker passed by them time and time again. He found other children easily. Admittedly, everyone was fairly conspicuous. But Hermione and he were the most conspicuous of all. At least to him.

NO one seemed to notice them. Not her parents. Not his parents. Not any of the children playing. Draco even got the feeling that if he let go of Hermione's hand he would lose sight of her as well. Reflexively he gave her hand a small squeeze instead.

When everyone else had been found, Hermione pulled Draco from the wall. Whatever magic she had been working, for that was the only thing it could be, stopped.

"Dang Hermione," Ethan said. "I wish I knew your secret for hiding so well. The one you showed to the new guy here."

Hermione smirked. "Magic."

The children and parents of everyone else laughed. Neither Draco nor his parents were sure why it was so funny. Mr. and Mrs. Granger looked mortified that Hermione would dare to joke about something like that.

"How about some cake?" Mrs. Granger attempted to gain some control over the situation.

There were a few cheers from some of the kids. Hermione wasn't sure if she should be excited for the cake, or upset that the games had been cut short. She mulled it over in her mind up to the point where the cake was brought out.

It was shaped like a sketchpad with a frosting outline of one of Hermione's own self portrait sketches. The curly hair and posture made it clear to everyone who knew her, in spite of the simplicity of it.

"Wow," Draco said.

His cake had been large and ornate. "Befitting of his station" had been words used to describe it. Hermione's cake might not have been as large or half as fancy, but it looked like it had been picked with her in mind. Not who she was supposed to be.

For what was not the first time, nor was it likely to be the last, Draco was glad to call Hermione his friend. She didn't care that he was a pureblood scion. She didn't care about his money. And she didn't like him because her parents wanted her to.

If anything, it seemed to be the other way around. Hermione like him. Her parents were doing their best, but they were still trying to come to terms with the world that Draco had brought with him. Suddenly magic had entered their lives.

Draco was shaken out of his thoughts by singing. He joined in. The song had managed to transcend the boundaries of the wizarding and muggle worlds. Perhaps it was because people like Hermione existed.

Hermione screwed up her face, concentrating on her wish, before she blew out the candles. There were only six, making it easy enough for them all to be snuffed out. However, with the ease that Hermione used magic, they likely would have all been extinguished even if there were a hundred of them.

The cake was chocolate. Everyone got a piece and soon enough all the children had chocolate covered faces. Even Hermione, with all her propensity towards tidiness, had streaks of chocolate on her cheeks. Draco was even less neat.

There were a few more games after that. All of them were adult supervised. Neither the Grangers nor the Malfoys wanted what had happened during hide and seek to happen again. Draco wouldn't have minded, but he wasn't about to argue with his parents. Especially around people who wouldn't understand.

Eventually it was time for everyone to leave. Hermione and her parents thanked everyone for coming as they went home. Before long it was just Draco and his parents left.

"We're still on for this Saturday?" Mr. Granger asked.

"I do have to see what you love about this 'rugby,'" Mr. Malfoy answered. "Draco's looking forward to it."

"Hermione doesn't particularly like rugby, but she's looking forward to the game as well."

"Dad," Hermione whined, "you aren't supposed to tell all my secrets."

Mr. Granger laughed. "Sorry sweetheart. I didn't know it was a secret."

"It's okay," Hermione said. "Just don't do it again."

She looked so stern that both of her parents were fighting to keep themselves composed. It wouldn't do for them to laugh in her face, even if it was at the absurdity of the situation. Especially since it was her birthday.

A/N: So in this universe, Hermione is younger than Draco. And we'll address the whole Hogwarts thing later. I'm thinking of skipping until the next year, but that probably won't happen. I need to get that rugby match in. And I'm writing what happened in the meeting with Lucius and Mr. Granger. But it won't get put in this story. I'll probably publish it as a one shot.