Edited: 04/01/2025

~ Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry ~

~ September 1st 1991 ~

~ Hermione's POV ~

It didn't seem all that much of a lengthy journey from Kings Cross to Hogsmead for the muggle-born who had managed to block out the entirety of her journey after her would be attackers and Draco had left her alone. The rest of her journey being as peaceful as the start. It wasn't until the trains whistle sounded loudly in her ears, alerting her to their whereabouts did she realise just how much of the journey she had apparently missed. She relaxed a little when she realised it was only the first official warning of their approach into the station. It meant she had a few minutes left to get herself situated.

The brunette slowly closed her book and sat up from her position slumped on the train seat and quickly scratched that one spot between Crooks' ears that he loved as he too woke from his sleeping position, tucked securely in at the brunettes hip. His quiet purring and the peaceful silence that enveloped her carriage allowing her to refocus on what was important and mostly forget the incident and the information that she had just learned. It allowed her to dismiss the worry she felt as something to deal with later, once she was settled into her classes and life at Hogwarts. She stretched her muscles tightly, feeling them creak and pop from years of climbing in and out of an attic as well as the time she had spent reading her books and consuming far too little sustenance on her orphans rations. Just as she tucked her book into her rucksack she felt the train begin to slow down, a clear indication to her that the train was about to pull in to the station.

She had immersed herself back in her book after the incident, Crooks purring contentedly next to her as they quietly enjoyed each other's company. When she heard the last whistle she finished her page, She glanced at the page number and took note of it for later. She slipped it into her bag and opted to carry Crookshanks with her as she left her carriage. His presence giving her a little comfort through the nerves that she had begun to feel grow within her. She was nervous about where she would be sorted. The four houses all took pride in different attributes and based on what she had seen and heard so far, her sorting would define how she was seen by society for a long time.

She knew Slytherin wasn't an option, there had never been a muggle-born sorted into that house in the history of the school and she knew most of its occupants were pure-blooded with a few half-bloods thrown in. They were said to be the most prejudice of houses and she had no doubt those boys from earlier were members of that particular house. Draco Malfoy would more than likely end up there too she was sure. Especially after she had read of how the Malfoy family had also, like the Lestrange's, supported Voldemort.

Hufflepuff was also a house she thought to be unlikely suited to her, they were famous for their kindness, their loyalty, patience and gentle nature's. Most Herbology specialists and Healers had come out of Hufflepuff and while Hermione knew she was a kind person and most definitely gentle in nature she had very little patience for people, she didn't like them and didn't particularly want to be seen as approachable. She had always much preferred the company of her books.

Gryffindor, known for their brash nature and bravery, and Ravenclaw, known for their intelligence and wit seemed to be the two main contenders for her and she couldn't figure out which one she would end up in. Ravenclaw seemed to be the most obvious option, she knew she was clever. She had always been more intelligent than anyone in her peer group in the muggle world but she knew herself enough to know that she could also be stupidly brave. Her sneaking out of the orphanage to visit the magical world being a prime example. Had she been caught she knew the consequences would have been rather dire for her but she had done it anyway. But then was it bravery or a selfish desire to learn more that had driven her down the drainpipe on the back outside wall of her home?

She supposed that her sorting could go any which way and she couldn't really dismiss any potential outcome based on her own biased thoughts, to do so would be presumptuous and entirely daft for anyone to do.

Upon stepping on to the platform, her eyes squinting slightly in the dark, Hermione heard an overly large bearded man heralding all the first year's to him. ''Firs' years, firs' years ower hear please." he boomed, his voice gruff but warm and Hermione wondered just who he was. She followed along beside the other first year students. She could sense her new classmates nervous as much as her own and decided it was best if she were to Keep to herself as much as she could until she knew who all surrounded her. She did make sure that she smiled politely at anyone that smiled at her, as the passed her. A quiet hello murmured back to them when she had no other option. It wouldn't do for her to make any sort of enemies this soon into her adventure and the brunette supposed that doing so would be entirely counterproductive in her plan to blend in as much as possible.

The students were led down the platform in a rather unorganised line, the giant man guiding the nervous looking group towards a dock. Hermione felt the air leave her throat in a silent gasp when her eyes clocked the view of Hogwarts in all it's glory from the Dock side. She could see the castle that was Hogwarts lit up at the other side of the lake. The water between them and the school shimmering gently. It was breath-taking and Hermione found herself mesmerised by the way the torch lights flickered on the water surface and seamed to twinkle as if they were truly stars. The scene, one she was sure would follow her for a life time, reminded the brunette of the many fairy tail stories she had been told by different caretakers from time to time. It was picturesque and it filled Hermione with such a tender sort of surety that she belonged that the young witch almost felt herself tear up.

At the same time it also made her excitement grow as they boarded the small row boats in little groups. Prompted by the giant man to hold on tightly and keep their limbs inside the boat at all times. Hogwarts in all its glory against the clear night sky was enough for her mind not to focus on his strange warning, instead her eyes remained focused on the beauty that was her new home. Not even minding in the slightest when a dark haired girl began to cling to her as they crossed because she was scared of drowning. She simply wrapped an arm around the terrified girl and kept her gaze fixed on the castle and all its splendour. She felt herself fall in love with the castle a little as she looked out at the wondrous place she was to call her home for the next nine months.

As they disembarked and she felt her feet reach solid ground she helped the girl who had clung to her up onto the embankment and straightened the girls robe for her. She quietly inspected her. The girls dark hair hung loosely down to the middle of her back, her dark brown eyes were kind and she smiled shyly at Hermione when she noticed that she was being scrutinised. The brunette breaking her own rules of solitary life, decided to offer the girl her hand in greeting. The girls kind eyes convincing the brunette that maybe this once she could try to make an exception.

"I'm Hermione Granger." she offered quietly, although a little hesitantly. She held out a clammy hand and Hermione found herself smiling gently when her hand was shook firmly. The firmness of the girls handshake pleased her, Matron had taught her from the time she could adequately coordinate hand eye movement how to shake someone's hand properly. The knowledge that even something as simple as a hand shake could tell you a lot about a person was engrained in her head. A weak handshake was, in her Matron's opinion, a sign of a weak character and therefore such a person was not meant to be offered any form of trust.

"I'm Cho, Cho Chang, it's nice to meet you Hermione." the girl responded with a hint of her own anxiety. Hermione nodded to show she had heard her new tentative friend opting to lapse back into silence. They walked quietly back to the castle, content to walk side by side, neither girl keen to break the silence with meaningless chatter.

The man who had been their guide so far stopped them abruptly at the steps of the castle entrance. His booming voice instructing them to wait for Professor McGonagall to fetch them so they could be led inside for the arrival feast. Upon delivering those instructions the large man turned abruptly striding away.

"...Hand me down robe, you must be a Weasley" a familiar snooty voice grit out from between clenched teeth. The brunette reluctantly felt her attention narrow in on the situation developing in front of her and she knew instinctively that she had tuned in halfway through some sort of confrontation. Draco Malfoy stood at the front of their group, a sneer plastered on his face, aimed in the direction of one of the red headed boys she had followed onto platform 9 3/4 earlier. Beside him stood a dark haired scruffy looking boy with glasses.

"You'll soon find that some wizarding families are better than others Potter, you don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." Malfoy continued and Hermione found herself wanting to curse him. Not because of what he had said but because of how arrogant he sounded. His prejudice she could excuse, after all how could he be blamed for believing in that which he had been taught his whole life. His arrogance however, that infuriated her. There was no need for his arrogance. The brunette strongly believed that an individuals upbringing was not an excuse for poor behaviour. After all she had surely proven that upbringing didn't weigh much in a person's kindness? If anyone had a right to act insufferable it was those who had experienced hardship, trauma and pain yet here she was and here he was. His arrogance shinning while all she wanted was to fade into the scenery.

She hadn't heard Mr Potters response nor did she notice Professor McGonagall arrive on the steps but it was the older woman's voice that drew her out of her head.

"...if you will follow me in to the great hall. The sorting ceremony shall begin promptly." The familiar lilting Scots voice sounded shaking off the thoughts that still lingered in her mind. Hermione let herself be carried along by the thrum of students as they entered the great hall. A room that was just as beautiful as the outside grounds had been. It had four long tables, each sporting their respective house colours. The ceiling was adorned by low hanging chandeliers, candles and the constellations shone above, charmed onto the ceiling. She silently wondered, as they came to a stop at the very front of the hall, how many of her peers had read the passage in Hogwarts: a History that spoke of the charmed ceiling, though she chose to keep such a statement to herself. She didn't want to make a name for herself, and certainly didn't want a repeat of muggle school where she had been known as a know-it-all for simply knowing the answer to every question a teacher had ever asked her.

The bullying had been horrendous and she refused to become a victim of the same treatment once again. Not here. In a world so full of wonder she still wasn't convinced she wasn't actually dreaming it all up, her own vivid imagination creating the wonders that lay before her.

"Abbot, Hannah" Professor McGonagall called, drawing Hermione's attention from the delightful sight above her, to the front. Taking in the raised dais that was directly in front of them and the large elongated table that sat at the back of the platform. Teachers lining it at one side, Their attention on the student body. Professor McGonagall stood at the front, holding an old tattered wizards hat, the brown leather looked as if it had been around for as long as the school. A dark brown wooden stool stood beside her.

Hermione watched enthralled as Hannah Abbot sat on the stool, a look of nervousness overtaking her features. The hat was placed on her head and Hermione beamed when it came to life suddenly, talking away without sound as it studied the mind within the head it was placed on. It was silent for a few moments more before the hat opened its mouth. "HUFFLEPUFF" it declared before falling still once again. It happened just as her book had described it would and she felt anticipation coil in her stomach as she continued to watch the sorting ceremony.

Slowly each name was called out alphabetically and one by one her peers were placed. Each respective house rejoicing for each new student that joined them. Her new acquaintance Cho Chang was placed in Ravenclaw. Hermione thought it a good choice. Cho's quiet intelligence was definitely clear to anyone that paid attention to the sheen of knowledge that gleamed in her eyes. Once her own name was called the young brunette took a deep breath, centring herself. She made her way up to the wooden stool, calm in appearance just like she had been taught. Professor McGonagall offering her a reassuring smile, squeezing her shoulder in encouragement as she placed the hat on her head. The brunette wiped her sweaty palms on her trouser legs subtly as she sat. Her mind yet again focusing on her earlier dilemma regarding where she would be placed.

"Hmmmm and what do we have here?" The brash voice of the sorting hat sounded in her head. Interrupting the brunette's inner monologue and making the girl listen with bated breath as the hat analysed her. "little lost girl, little lost girl not for long, isn't your mind a wonder" The hat was making no sense to the brunette as she listened, her face a picture of confusion as the hat babbled in her mind. She hadn't the slightest of clues as to what the strange hat meant? It's phrasing baffled her. Little lost girl? She knew exactly where she was so she wasn't lost was she? "Where to put you... hmmm difficult choice I see. A mind bright enough for Ravenclaw, brave enough for Gryffindor, loyal as a Hufflepuff and as cunning as a Slytherin. All good choices. You'd fit them all..." the hat continued to ramble, seemingly listing off pros and cons as to where she would be best placed but making no real progress. She zoned the voice out, content to let it rant and ramble to itself all it pleased while she took in the students around her and puzzled over the relics words.

Gryffindor seemed a rowdy bunch, littered with redheads. They were laughing and joking, twin boys seemingly in the centre of it all. They looked rather similar to the student Malfoy had spoke down to and Hermione vaguely recognised them as the red heads she had followed on to the platform in London.

Ravenclaw table sat quietly, all watching her as she watched them. They looked organised and united in a way none if the other tables did. They had left a gap in the middle of the table for the first years. Each new addition to the house had been welcomed and directed to sit in the middle of the table, flanked by the older years. It made her smile to see the way they embraced the new comers.

Hufflepuff table looked to have a similar set up, but she could see the mischief and barely restrained energy contained at the table, barely hidden in the way they all appeared to restrain themselves and it made her cringe slightly. It wasn't a bad thing at all, she just didn't know if she could deal with that energy on a daily basis. There had been a girl of about 12 at the haven when Hermione had been around 5 years old that had contained a similar sort of energy. Hermione had adored the girl greatly and viewed her as the role model she had always dreamt of having, but the girls energy and mischief had gotten her in trouble and she had been sent away to a nunnery. Matron having used her as an example of what happened to wilful girls that didn't follow her rules. Her loss had devastated Hermione and she knew just looking at this table that she would never feel wholly comfortable with that reminder.

As she moved her analysis to the final table she only spared Slytherin a glance, before turning away from them. She refused to consider a future in that house. Under Mrs Lestrange's protection or not, she doubted she'd fit in very well there. Yes she wouldn't be attacked out right thanks to the meddling woman's instructions but she knew that she would always be a target there for those that saw them self as her betters. She rolled her eyes internally at that thought. Her trained face remaining impassive because even if Matron was not here in person Hermione knew she'd still face a punishment from her if she were caught acting so uncouth in a public place.

The brunette sighed quietly. Her limbs growing a little weary as the sorting hat continued to ramble in her mind. The students grew more and more impatient with the silence as the seconds ticked into minutes. Before she knew it, twelve minutes had already passed and her bottom had grown quite numb from sitting on the hard wood of the stool for so long. Her back protesting the position also.

'Oh for goodness sake pick one please, there's only four houses, one of which we both know I cannot be placed in because of my blood status, another I'd be entirely uncomfortable in so that leaves two. That's a 50/50 chance of picking correctly' she finally snapped in her mind. The brunette finally losing patience after 15 minutes of indecision with the whole school staring at her. Her outburst stopped the hats rant in its tracks. His voice that of shock when he addressed her once more.

'Oh well then, with that retort there is only one place I'd feel comfortable putting you in despite how unhappy it'll make him. He would prefer you in his house. But very well little lost girl.' the hat replied matter of factly before declaring his choice loudly.

"Ravenclaw!" And the hat was finally lifted from her head. Hermione grit her teeth at the thunderous applause that ruptured all around her. A response she was sure had more to do with the students relief at the sorting finally moving forward than with them being pleased for her personally. Not that she minded. She was just glad to be able to move off of the wooden stool and rejoin the students. The brunette smiled politely as the older students embraced her, when she joined them at the Ravenclaw Table, Their embrace guiding her to an open seat right beside Cho, the other girl beaming at the newest Raven happily.

"Well that took a while, didn't it?" the girl stated, turning back to watch the rest of the students. Hermione didn't feel the need to reply. She could hear the whispered speculation all around her. She could hear the older students talking, voices equally awed and horrified, about how it had never taken so long to sort anyone before. That not even professor McGonagall or Headmaster Dumbledore – the most notable hat stalls in recent history - had taken that long to be sorted. She personally didn't think it mattered very much how long it had taken. It was what it was. She had been sorted and that was that. She was just glad she hadn't been placed in Slytherin. Especially when Draco Malfoy was placed in that house not long after, the entirety of that table erupting at the hats decision.

From then the sorting continued without flaw, students were sorted quickly and the only thing to happen apart from her own hat stall worth noting was Harry Potter, who after a four and a half minute hat stall, was sorted into Gryffindor.

She had read all about Harry Potter in some of the wizarding books she had gotten her hands on over the summer. He was merely two years old when he had apparently killed the darkest wizard in history. Also the most powerful man nest to Albus Dumbledore and the mot sadistic. Although Hermione didn't think the man could have been as powerful as he was made out to be if a mere infant was able to defeat him. Not that all the information available for consumption had made much sense. It didn't add up to the brunette and she was sure it was something that she would have to look into more in order to understand what had happened better.

After the sorting, Hermione watched in awe as Headmaster Professor Dumbledore snapped his fingers. Food the likes she had never seen appearing on the tables in front of her. It caused her stomach both to lurch in both hunger and protest. Weary about indulging in such rich foods when she had not had much exposure to anything other than the horrific sludge served for every meal at the orphanage. The Haven had always been on a tight budget and Matron rarely splurged on anything more appealing for them to eat. Vying it unnecessary wasting of precious funds. They only ever had other dishes when they had guests coming and even then it was never what you would consider rich. She looked around wearily seeing that everyone, staff and students alike were all tucking in with vigour. All where seemingly not phased by the lavish meal presented to them. There was everything on the table, from golden brown Yorkshire puddings, to well cooked meats, vegetables, soups and stuffing. If that wasn't enough to fill her stomach with apprehension then the cloyingly rich scent that accompanied the many dishes and filled the air would. It was all so... expensive and Hermione didn't know where to start.

With a small pop, Hermione was startled more than she would like to admit when her plate was filled with a small portion of food. A little bit of roast ham, a Yorkshire pudding and some veg. With a small dressing of Gravy for good measure. She glanced up, looking around for the answer to whom had noticed her hesitation and relaxed marginally when she found Professor McGonagall smiling down at her reassuringly. The deputy head offering her a polite nod before turning to engross herself in her own food.

Hermione smiled to herself, a feeling of content settling in her stomach upon feeling her fellow classmate Cho rest a hand on her back gently. The dark haired girl offering Hermione silent reassurance and acknowledgement of support in such a simple gesture. It made her feel warm. Included and as if she truly did have the world at her feet with endless possibilities for the first time in her life. She decided in that moment to simply let whatever was to happen, happen and dismiss all that had come before. Her rocky start on the train and her pure blooded stalker included. She wanted this year and every other year to come to be just as pleasant as the last few seconds of her life had just been.

As she turned to enjoy her own food, Hermione couldn't help but think that maybe, somehow, she was always meant to have been in this world after all.