August 31st came fast for the parents, and not fast enough for everyone who was attending. Hermione and Draco were so anxious that when the day came, they were at the train station over an hour early.

"And that's where we met," Draco said. He pointed at the bench where he'd first walked up to Hermione.

"I remember that," Helena said. "I thought I was going crazy."

Hermione giggled. "She thought I was making stuff up for weeks."

"I still have no clue how you two managed to meet up again. It shouldn't have happened once. Let alone twice," Helena said exasperatedly.

"Magic," Draco and Hermione chorused.

"I hate it when they give me that answer," Helena confided in Narcissa.

Narcissa would have shrugged if it weren't so casual of an answer. She couldn't explain it to Helena, as much as she wished she could. But Draco and Hermione seemed destined to have found each other. That was the only answer she and Lucius had been able to come to.

"Remember, it only looks like a wall," Narcissa said.

"Do you want me to go first?" Draco asked. He knew that it was sometimes easier to believe a thing was possible if someone else did it first.

Hermione shook her head. She didn't want to be seen even the slightest bit of a coward. She could go through the barrier just as easily as Draco.

She walked at the wall between platforms nine and ten as confidently as she knew how. No one, apart from maybe Narcissa, Lucius, and most definitely Draco, would have known how scared she was. It was sometimes frustrating.

Draco watched his best friend, who also happened to be his intended, walk at the barrier. He knew she would be fine. She was stubborn enough that he wasn't worried about that. But he almost wished that she had let him go first. She would be less nervous if she had.

"You next," Narcissa said to Draco.

Draco nodded and walked to the barrier. He was more cool about his entrance, but mostly because he'd been a few times. Mostly with his father to see off some associate's child.

They stood for a few minutes on the other side of the barrier.

"Less scary than I thought," Hermione said.

"We should probably move away from the barrier," Draco said.

They scooted off to the side with a rather spectacular red and black train. Hermione gasped a little at the steam engine.

"I thought you wizards were horribly against progress," she teased.

Draco rolled his eyes. "How exactly would you propose a bunch of school aged children get to Hogwarts?"

Hermione shrugged. "I don't know. But I certainly wasn't expecting that sort of a thing. It looks like a steam engine."

"That's because it is," Narcissa said.

"You can't be serious," Helena said. "Walls that let people walk through just to get to what looks like an ordinary steam engine. Please tell me that it's at least been enchanted."

"Of course it's been enchanted," Hermione said. "Can't you feel it?"

"Feel what?" Draco asked.

"The humming sensation," Hermione said. "Those are some pretty strong spells. Much stronger than anything I can do."

"Yet," Narcissa said. "You're quite a talented young lady."

"And if she's saying that," Helena pointed at the blonde lady, "it must be true. I wouldn't know. But I do know that your father and I are so proud of you. And we're going to miss you."

Hermione wrapped her arms tightly around her mother. She was more than ready to go learn magic, but part of her wished that she could go home after school every day like she used to in primary school. She supposed she would get used to it. Part of her didn't want to.

And then there was the fact that Draco was going. And while technically she wasn't supposed to be going for another year, there was no way that she was going to let him go by himself. She would have fought tooth and nail to get there if Narcissa hadn't done it for her.

Hermione was glad to have the witch on her side. Narcissa could be formidable. There was a reason that practically every other woman in her social circle practically bowed to her will. She was unstoppable when she put her mind to it.

"I'm going to miss you too," Hermione said.

"You promise that you write me, every day if you have to," Helena told her daughter.

"Starting tonight, right after the sorting," Hermione swore.

"You don't have to start right then," Narcissa said. "There is a feast. Neither I nor your mother would mind if either of you waited until afterwards to start writing."

"Can we get on the train?" Draco said, his voice far more bored than he was actually feeling. He was excited to be leaving. He'd been ready for Hogwarts for years. And he was anxious to get started. The only sad thing was that he'd had to leave his broom at home.

"What do we do with our trunks?" Hermione asked.

"I'll take care of that," Narcissa said. She pulled out her wand and waived a complicated pattern while muttering a few words in a language neither Draco nor Hermione had heard before.

The trunks vanished with a pop.

Draco found that his mouth dropped open. He hadn't seen his mother use magic very often. He thought that she didn't like to. And he suddenly had a different realization.

His mother loved magic. But she was powerful. Immensely so. And her display would have likely scared even grown wizards and witches if more people had been paying attention. And Draco was suddenly glad that they were early enough that no one was there.

"Can you teach me how to do that?" Hermione asked.

"Maybe when you're a little older. It takes great control to do something like that. And you're only just beginning to learn your gift," Narcissa said.

"Besides, just wait till we get to learn wandless magic," Draco said.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Helena asked.

"I think it's a much worse idea to leave them without that skill. Who knows what trouble they might get into if they have to rely on their wands and lose them," Narcissa answered.

"Mum," Hermione said, "I'm going to be fine. Besides, she can't teach me anything until the holidays."

"That makes me feel so much better," Helena said sarcastically. Even so, she smiled a smidge at them.

"And you may want to get on the train and find a compartment. If I recall correctly, space fills up quickly," Narcissa added.

There was another round of hugs exchanged before Draco and Hermione climbed onto the train. They quickly found an empty compartment. It was fairly easy when there weren't a lot of people aboard.

"So, what do you want to do?" Draco asked once they had sat down.

Hermione pulled her sketchbook out of her bag. She carefully positioned everything she needed so she wouldn't have to move much and disrupt her focus.

"Don't move," she told Draco.

Draco was her favourite subject to draw. He'd posed for enough portraits, some from her and others that his parents had commissioned, to know how to stay still until she told him to move. Not that she needed it. She could draw him from memory and had on several occasions.

They sat in silence for a while. Hermione was preoccupied with the art. And Draco wasn't willing to move or disturb her. She got fairly frustrated when that happened.

A soft knock on the compartment door alerted them to the fact that there were more people coming. Hermione packed up her sketchbook. She didn't need whoever it was realizing that she had that sort of a talent.

"Hi," the boy they had met at Madam Malkin's said. "Can I sit with you? If I pick an empty compartment someone's sure to come in. And I don't really want to talk to them. Not sure what they'd think."

"Not sure I can't guarantee that Theo and Blaise won't come," Draco said.

"Pansy sure won't," Hermione said thankfully.

"All the same, I'd rather have some sort of barrier between me and questions."

"Don't worry about it, we can pass you off as some stray that Hermione picked up," Draco teased.

"Does that happen often?" the boy asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "If you're talking about David, he's your friend. I don't know why you keep blaming that on me. I don't even like rugby."

"I'm confused."

"Don't worry about it," Draco said.

"We've been friends since we were five. There's a lot you've missed if we only just me you. And I don't think I got your name. I'm Hermione."

"Harry," he said.

"Draco."

"Be nice," Hermione said to Draco. "Ignore him. He's just jealous. He was this way the first time I met Theo and Blaise."

"So much better," Harry said under his breath.

"I am not jealous," Draco whined.

Hermione gave him a pointed look. He was being jealous, and they all knew it. Him not wanting to admit to it didn't change the situation.

"Maybe a little bit," he admitted. "But you were my friend first."

"At this point he's just an acquaintance," Hermione said. "And if I'm allowed to be friends with Theo and Blaise, I can be friends with Harry. Besides, he might not be in Slytherin. And if I get placed elsewhere I'll need at least one friend who isn't in your house."

"I thought Slytherin was full of dark wizards," Harry said.

"What moron told you that?" Draco asked.

"Draco," Hermione warned. "It's true that Slytherin has had its fair share of dark wizards and witches. But that's because the house is full of people with ambition. And you know the saying about absolute power corrupting people."

"I guess," Harry said.

"It's also about family and tradition," Draco said. "Most of the Slytherins have a lineage going back for generations. We'll see about this one." He pointed at Hermione. "She's convinced she'll be a Ravenclaw. I'm not so sure."

"I'm a muggleborn," Hermione said. "There hasn't been one of those in Slytherin for the past fifty years."

"Why not?" Harry asked.

Both Hermione and Draco shrugged.

"Mother won't tell me," Draco said.

"And no one I've asked, not even Severus Snape, will tell me anything," Hermione said. "I think they think we're not old enough to understand. But both Lucius and Narcissa seem convinced I'll be in Slytherin too."

"Has my mother been wrong about anything before?" Draco asked.

"There's a first time for everything," Harry said.

"Thank you," Hermione said. "Besides, I don't have that much ambition."

"You should see her when she's interested in something," Draco said. "She's like a dog with a bone. And she already said that she's determined to get better grades than me. Just wait till you see her play quidditch."

"What's quidditch?" Harry asked.

Before either of them could answer the compartment door opened and Theo slid in followed close behind by Blaise.

"You would not believe how crowded the platform is," Theo complained.

"That's why you should get here earlier," Hermione said. "You wouldn't have to fight through as many crowds."

"But Hermione, there aren't usually this many people here," Blaise said.

He was right. There weren't usually people without children to drop off at the station. Or at least at platform nine and three quarters. They were usually busy with other things.

"I think I heard some whispers about Harry Potter on the platform," Theo said.

Hermione had heard the name, but few people would talk to her about him. She'd found out most of what she knew from books she'd smuggled to a hidden corner of the Malfoy library.

Even with her limited knowledge she saw Harry blanche a little at what she could confidently guess was his name. She caught Draco's eye and subtly shook her head.

"And who's this?" Blaise asked, finally noticing the other person in the compartment.

"I'm James," Harry said.

"Did Hermione adopt another person?" Theo teased Draco.

"If anything, Draco's the person who would do the adopting," Hermione huffed. "He's the one who adopted me. And then David."

"You adopted Daphne," Theo said. "Even if she is hopeless at quidditch."

"What's quidditch?" Harry-James asked again.

"Only the greatest sport known to man," Blaise exclaimed. He held a hand over his chest and dramatically flopped onto Draco's lap.

"Get off me you oaf," Draco said.

"You must be a muggleborn. Forgive us. Mione here might be one, but she's been around us and magic since we were all five. We've forgotten that sometimes people don't learn about our world as early," Theo said.

"It's a complicated sport that involves broomsticks. It's actually rather fun," Hermione said.

"And this is coming from the one who hates sports," Draco said. "So you know it's fun."

"She only likes it because you two can trounce everyone," Blaise said.

They talked quidditch, explaining the rules and tactics to Harry, for a while until a chubby blond boy came up.

"Have any of you seen a toad?" he asked.

They shook their heads but Draco stood up.

"Don't worry Neville, we'll help you find him," he said.

A/N: so I think this is the longest chapter I've written so far. I know it definitely is for this story. Don't worry. The sorting's going to be next chapter. If any of you have pressing feelings about this you can leave a review. I know where I want Harry. And you may have guessed where I'm heading with Hermione and Draco. Also, I know I'm not updating particularly quickly. I'm working on writing. But with wedding planning (which if you've read some of my other stories you'll already know that I'm engaged, if not that happened) and whatnot, things have gotten a little busy.