Disclaimer:

This is a work of fanfiction based on the Harry Potter books and movies by J.K. Rowling. I do not own the copyright or intellectual property rights to any of the characters, settings, or other elements from the original work.

A/n:

Hello everyone,

This is my take on a Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy story. I am a fan of Dramione fanfics, and I wanted to give it a try to write one myself. There will be no soul-bonding between the two, so you can expect it to be quite a long story. The story will be based on the original storylines but with a few changes that will change the characters' relationships—kind of a rewrite of the story.

Just a heads-up, the first two years are still very close to canon, more original storylines will happen during Year 3.

I hope you can join my journey and enjoy my story.

Annie

P.S.

Some viewers have been saying my version of Draco was not "mean" or "muggle-hating" enough. This story is not canon, and I want to change Draco early on so that Dramione will happen slowly and steadily.

I am not writing to please everyone. If you are not interested in my story, you are free to move on and find another story that fits your taste. I have my own approach to the story, so don't tell me to re-read the books. I know how the original story goes and I don't need people lecturing me.

I know how mean this sounds but I would like to protect myself from hateful comments. I am writing to make myself happy and fulfil my fantasy. So if you don't mean well, please leave.

As for the others, please enjoy my story if you find it interesting. I love hearing from you and every favourite and follows make my day.

1 September 1991

"You are not coming through?" said a young girl with bushy brown curls, looking up at her parents.

Between platforms 9 and 10 at the King's Cross station stood a family of three. The station was crowded with people, muggles, witches and wizards. The young witch could sense magic tinglings when witches and wizards walked past her, easily distinguishing the magical from the non-magical bodies. Her parents, however, were just muggles. Before their daughter received the letter from Hogwarts, they never knew there was a platform nine and three-quarters. Now with their daughter being admitted into Hogwarts, they were able to see people going through the brick wall and vanishing, while others didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that humans were disappearing into the brick wall.

Mrs Granger kneeled, holding her daughter's hand in one and cupping her little face in another. She gently caressed her cheeks and smiled reluctantly.

"Oh honey, we are just a bit... overwhelmed. With you leaving to study aboard in this magical world at such a young age, we are afraid that..." Mrs Granger murmured, realising that she didn't have the right words.

"...that we will regret letting you leave," said Mr Granger while patting his wife's shoulder.

They had long accepted the fact that their only daughter, Hermione Jean Granger, was somewhat special. Unexplainable and strange events happened soon after she turned five. When a staff member from Hogwarts informed them about their daughter's potential, all mysteries were solved, and they gladly accepted their child being a witch. They were very supportive of her, but when it was time to say goodbye, their hearts still ached.

"I'll write you letters, although I don't know how to deliver them to you yet... but I will," said Hermione, and she gave the biggest hug to her mother. "I love you, Mum, and I will miss you."

"... I am already missing you..." Mrs Granger held her daughter tighter than usual, trying to hold back her tears.

Mr Granger got down on one knee to join the hug and whispered, "Me too". They exchanged a few more chats before getting back on his feet.

"It's almost time. You should get going." Mr Granger gave a little push on Hermione's back.

"Be safe and have fun. Remember, you are special no matter what. You are the brightest and smartest girl I have ever seen. Don't ever doubt yourself because of anyone." Mrs Granger planted a gentle kiss on Hermione's cheek and got up to let her daughter go. "Mum and Dad love you to the moon and back."

"And I, you."

Hermione adjusted her trolley with all her trunks towards the brick wall. She turned to look at her parents once more and smiled before going through the barrier into the unknown world.

"Woo-woo!" The red train released a trail of steam, reminding its passengers there were 15 minutes left before it headed off to its destination.

"Father," said the young boy with white-blond slicked-back hair towards a taller figure not far from him.

"Darling, your father is a bit... busy. Let's just wait for a while, okay?" said his mother, trying to put up a gentle smile.

"He's been busy for the whole month, and this is the last ten minutes..." The boy crossed his arms and pouted.

His father was a complicated man, at least that's what his mother had told him. He knew his father had high expectations of him, with all the lessons about the magical world and the history of pure blood. He was not allowed to complain, let alone show any signs of weakness. Even though his father would go to great lengths to provide the best for him, he had come to acknowledge that his father was not the typical caring and loving parent. Still, he looked up to him and wished that one day he could be a successful and proud wizard, just like his father. Even at a young age, he understood his goals and duties to the family, to make his family proud and make their name Malfoy shine.

"Let me talk to him," said Narcissa Malfoy. Sometimes she would wonder if her husband was too harsh on their boy, so she always tried to be the more supportive and loving parent, hoping that she could maybe help fill in the void in her son.

She walked to Lucius and whispered a few lines to him. Given the furrowed eyebrows of his mother, Draco could see that she was not pleased with her husband. Lucius let out a sigh and walked toward Draco. He struggled to find the words to say since he didn't really care much about sending him to a boarding school. Much to his expectations, it was just another duty that Draco had to carry out.

Before the silence between the two became awkward, Lucius saw a boy coming through the barrier. Even with just a glimpse, he knew that it was none other than the boy-who-lived.

"Harry Potter..." Lucius whispered to himself.

"Father?"

"Look, Draco." Lucius grabbed Draco's shoulders and turned him towards the barrier. There stood a boy with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. "That's the famous Harry Potter. His fame will be an asset to our family's reputation. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Father..." He couldn't believe that he would be receiving tasks and duties even in the last few moments with his father. Being friends with the famous boy wouldn't be a difficult task, but a sense of disgust just ran through his stomach. A boy he barely knew just became the centre of attention, and even his father got carried away. He just couldn't bear the sight of that boy.

"Woo-woo!" Only 5 minutes left to get on the train.

"Alright then, have a nice school year, Draco. Always remember you are a proud Malfoy."

"I will, Father. Goodbye, Mom."

Draco pushed his cart and turned to the train. He didn't look back in case his parents could see the disappointment in his eyes.

Once settled down, Hermione changed into her school uniform and robe, which she had tried on several times at home already.

When she got back into her train compartment, something immediately felt wrong.

"Trevor! Where are you?" A chubby boy was rummaging through the trunks in the compartment.

"Neville, did you lose your toad again?" Hermione signed. Neville Longbottom had caused a scene already before getting up the train. His toad was eventually found hiding in Dean Thomas's trunk.

Hermione and Dean spread out to find Trevor while Neville stayed behind, making sure Trevor wasn't hiding in their trunks.

Hermione was responsible for the first-year compartments, and she went through each of them, asking students if they had ever seen Neville's toad.

After going through a few unsuccessful attempts, she reached a compartment with three young wizards. She knocked on the door twice, and without waiting for a response, she slid open the compartment door.

On the one side of the compartment, two rather large boys were chatting while stuffing their faces with chocolates. They didn't stop laughing at each other even after someone opened the compartment door. They just didn't seem to care at all.

Sitting opposite them was a white-blond hair boy. His skin was quite pale, and his features were relatively sharp, which left a strong impression on Hermione. Judging by his posture and attitude, he must be the leader of the group and most probably the smarter one among the three. He wasn't paying any attention to the two boys when they messed around. Instead, he was staring out in the window, looking at the fields. He didn't seem excited to be going to Hogwarts, at least not as enthusiastic as Hermione was. He appeared to be a bit lost, Hermione thought to herself.

"Excuse me, have you seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost it."

Hermione's actions had caught Draco's attention. He could tell that she was a bit annoyed by the situation, probably because she had asked the same question many times before reaching his compartment. She sounded confident, maybe a bit bossy, even among strangers. Her wild curly hair really stood out, and her chocolate brown eyes matched pretty well. She was probably the first student who changed into the whole school uniform, which implied she was excited to go to Hogwarts.

"No. You are the first to open this door, and I assume a toad can't fly through walls." Draco said with a hint of a smirk.

Hermione, on the other hand, didn't take the sarcasm well. "Well then, thank you for your brilliant information," she said with a bossy tone and turned to leave.

"I am Draco Malfoy. What's your name?" He asked before Hermione got to shut the door behind her. She turned around and said confidently with a bit of annoyance, "Hermione Granger."

Hermione Granger. Granger.

The name didn't ring a bell, and Draco swore he had never heard of a Granger family. This made her even more intriguing to Draco. "Granger? Which family do you belong to? I don't quite recognise your family name."

His questions were quite a shock to Hermione. She didn't expect people would go around asking about her family name. At least, that was not a common practice in the muggle world. She was not very pleased with Draco's questions or his tone. "I don't think I am obligated to answer such questions, especially from a person who I have never met before." She furrowed while voicing her opinions.

Hermione didn't give Draco any time to react. She turned around again, slammed the door and left immediately.

After the unpleasant conversation with Draco Malfoy and a few more compartment visits, Hermione arrived at the last compartment. This time, Hermione didn't even bother to knock, and she slid open the door directly. She startled the two boys inside the compartment, but before they could say anything, Hermione spotted the scar on one of the boys' foreheads. She couldn't hold her excitement and burst out, "You are Harry Potter!"

Harry was a bit stunned by her reaction. He was still overwhelmed by the Hogwarts Express and the stories which Ron was telling him previously, and was still getting over the fact that he was pretty famous in the wizarding world. He didn't know how to respond at all.

"Oh, I am sorry," said Hermione. She noticed the confusion in Harry's eyes and felt that she had been overreacting. "My name is Hermione Granger. I am helping a boy named Neville. He has lost his toad again, unfortunately. Have you guys seen it around?"

The boy shook their heads.

"I see... Well, sorry again for bothering you. I should probably leave now." Hermione was still caught up in her own embarrassment.

"You can stay and chat if you want," Harry offered. "Ron here was telling me about some famous wizards and witches."

"Yes. I would love to join," Hermione smiled and sat opposite the boys.

The red-haired boy was Ron Weasley. They met at the station where his mother taught Harry to enter platform nine and three-quarters. Before Hermione's arrival, he was explaining the magical world to Harry. Although Hermione had been studying the wizarding world for a few months already, it was interesting and refreshing to hear from a boy born into an actual wizarding family.

She learnt that wizards and witches could be classified as pure-blood, half-blood and muggle-born. To her surprise, the name Malfoy was mentioned. It belonged to a pure-blood family and Lucius Malfoy, the father of Draco Malfoy, was once suspicious of working under he-who-must-not-be-named. No wonder he was so impolite, Hermione thought, but she shrugged off the idea of Draco Malfoy and continued with the chat.

The conversation was delightful. Hermione was thrilled to meet the famous Harry Potter, whom she read about in books. She had so many questions for him, but they were all slammed down since Harry only knew about his magical background a few days ago. On the other hand, Ron tried to perform a spell taught by his brothers Fred and George to turn his pet rat yellow. Of course, it didn't go well, and clearly, he was being pranked. Hermione took the chance to show off a bit with a self-taught spell that fixed Harry's glasses. She explained that she was thrilled to learn about this world as she was a muggle-born. The boys were both amazed by her talent and enthusiasm.

This was the moment when the seed of their friendship started to grow.

The three had a great time chatting with each other, and it was not long until the train stopped at its destination.

The first-year students were led by Hagrid. They took little boats to cross the lake between the train station and Hogwarts. All the students were amazed by the grandiosity of the school. Once arriving at the school gate, they were greeted by Professor McGonagall. She led them to the Great Hall, where the start-of-term banquet was going to be held. Right outside the entrance, she explained to the students about the sorting ceremony and introduced the four houses. Before going into the Great Hall, she went in alone to check if all arrangements and preparations were ready.

Of course, the group of 11-year-olds couldn't help but start chit-chatting. Some of them discussed the sorting ceremony, while some admired the campus. Harry, Ron and Hermione also continued with their conversation.

"You said your parents are dentists. What exactly do they do?" asked Ron.

"They are like doctors... or healers, if you will. But they only work on their patients' teeth instead of the whole human body," Hermione explained.

"Sounds... interesting," Ron said with a doubtful voice.

Little did they know that Draco Malfoy was eavesdropping on their chat about Hermione's parents.

No wonder he had never heard of any Granger family. Hermione Granger was a muggle-born.

Muggle-born. The impure blood. Draco thought to himself.

Despite her intriguing personality, Draco instantly felt disgusted by her presence. How could someone like her get into Hogwarts? How could she speak to him with such disrespect? What's more, why would the famous Potter be talking to her like they were some long-lost friends?

Draco recalled the task his father gave him. He went up and pushed Hermione to the side. "Ouch! What are you doing?"

"Move away, let the real wizards talk. People with impure blood like you do not deserve to be here," said Draco. The two chubby boys behind followed and laughed at Hermione, making her feel out of place.

Draco turned to Harry and Ron. "Hi, you must be Harry Potter, and you, red hair, freckles, you must be a Weasley."

He then pointed at his two friends and continued, "This is Crabbe, and this is Goyle. And my name is Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Seeing no response from Harry, Draco put out his hand to offer a handshake, "You soon find some wizarding families are better than others. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort, especially the ones with no wizarding families." He took a peek at Hermione. He could see Hermione's anger through her eyes, but he didn't care.

Harry recalled the conversation on the train ride about the Malfoys. Seeing how bad-mannered Draco was, he didn't give a second thought and replied, "I think I can tell who the wrong sort are myself, thanks."

Draco squinted and put away his hand. "Suit yourself then, Potter. If I were you, I would be watching my back."

Draco turned and walked to the side, followed by his friends. He walked passed Hermione while giving her a hateful look.

Hermione couldn't believe how loathsome Draco Malfoy was. She figured out that with his pure-blood status and pride, he was probably disgusted by the fact that she was a muggle-born.

The interaction with Draco put everyone in a bad mood. With the sorting ceremony ahead of them, the trio wished to not get sorted into the house where Draco was going to be.

Luckily, the Sorting Hat did a great job sorting Draco to Slytherin and the trio to Gryffindor, separating them from each other.