Unofficial Portkey Archive

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it belongs to JK Rowling, etc etc.

Authors Note: Okay, just a short chapter. We'll call it a Hermione Interlude. Hope this answers some of your questions. Oh, and be sure to keep an open mind. Enjoy!

Chapter Three

Hermione Granger appeared to be just like every normal girl her age, albeit with a higher focus on studying and lesser focus on partying than most girls her age. However, she wasn't as normal as she appeared. Hermione Granger was a witch, the smartest witch in her year in fact, and attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

When she first found out she was a witch she was ecstatic, and her parents as well, who had always been very encouraging and supportive with Hermione. She had begged her parents to take her to get her school things as soon as possible, and the next day they had gone to Diagon Alley, and purchased everything she would need for her first year. Hermione spent the entire summer reading her schoolbooks, and even a few extra she had managed to wheedle out of her parents.

The most fascinating thing she read was in The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts. The book detailed all of the Dark Wizards over the last ten centuries, and even though she was a little bit scared of the idea of a Dark Wizard, she couldn't have been more eager about getting to Hogwarts.

The reason Hermione was so eager was simple. Harry Potter would be in her year. She had done all the calculations and was sure that the Boy Who Lived was roughly the same age as her. Therefore, he had to be in her year, didn't he?

She couldn't wait to meet him. Her mind came up with fantasy upon fantasy about how the two of them would become best friends. He had to be smart and powerful, after all, he was the only known person to survive the Killing Curse, so she was sure they would get along.

One would wonder why Hermione was so thrilled about the idea of going to a new school, far away from her parents and friends, all alone in a totally new environment. But the truth was, Hermione didn't really have any friends. Most of the children her age either picked on her or ignored her. Hermione knew it was because she liked to read books and do well in school. Children can be very mean and Hermione knew this from first hand experience. But going to Hogwarts gave her a fresh start and Hermione had high hopes. These people would be like her, so she would fit in, wouldn't she?

Unfortunately, Hermione wasn't right this time. When she got on the train she felt suddenly alone. She entered compartment after compartment, trying to find a place to sit. The older students didn't want her sitting with them. Some of them even sneered at her and called her a Mudblood. She didn't know what that meant, but it didn't sound very nice. She entered the last compartment to find a boy with messy black hair and glasses talking to another boy with sleek silver hair, flanked by two big boys that looked quite scary to Hermione.

"Oh," the young eleven-year-old Hermione exclaimed. "I'm sorry. Everywhere else is full. Can I sit here?"

The silver haired boy looked at her with narrowed eyes whilst the other boy picked up a book and started reading. Had he even noticed her standing here?

"You're a muggleborn aren't you?" The silver haired boy asked.

"Erm...My parents are muggles...yes." Hermione answered.

The boy sneered at her. "Sorry, this compartment is full." He didn't sound sorry at all.

"But - " Hermione trailed off, looking to the other boy for support.

"Go on then Mudblood," the silver haired boy drawled. "Get out of here."

Hermione looked to the other boy again, this time catching his eyes over the rim of his book, but he just looked back at her. Hermione felt tears welling in her eyes, so she quickly turned on her heel and left the compartment with a sniff, hearing the silver haired boy with the drawling voice laugh behind her, before the door closed with a snap. She wiped at her eyes and looked up, spotting another boy sitting on the floor a bit further down the hall holding a struggling toad. He looked up at her and blushed a little, catching her crying. She wiped her eyes more firmly and went to walk away when she heard him speak.

"You can't find a compartment either?" he asked, timidly.

"No." she whispered.

"You can sit here...if you like." He murmured.

Hermione turned around and walked over to him, sitting down gingerly by his side.

"I'm Neville." He introduced himself.

"Hermione."

And that was how she met Neville, pretty much her only real friend at Hogwarts. But, on the bright side, at least it was better than public school. She later learned the boys in the last compartment she tried where called Draco Malfoy and, much to Hermiones dismay, Harry Potter. They were both sorted into Slytherin, whilst she joined Neville in Gryffindor.

Things hadn't changed much since then. She spent most of her time studying in the library. She didn't really make any friends, except for Neville. Parvati and Lavender were okay, but they weren't really her friends. Maybe she would have made some, but after her experience in her first year, when a Mountain Troll attacked her, she became a very reserved person, hardly talking to anyone for at least a year. Her parents even considered pulling her from school. She was extremely lucky her Professors got there in time to save her life, but unfortunately she did suffer some bad injuries. Even now her arm wouldn't straighten completely and she still walked with a slight limp.

Hermione didn't like to think about it.

"Hermione dear, are you okay?" her Mothers voice interrupted her wandering mind. "You look a thousand miles away."

They were sitting at a table in a café in France, waiting for their coffees to arrive and her Father to return from his own personal shopping trip. Hermiones Mother, Mrs. Jane Granger, was waving her hand in front of her daughters face.

"Sorry mum," Hermione replied. "I think I was a thousand miles away. What were you saying?"

"I was just asking you how school is going."

"Oh, it's okay, I'm doing my best." Hermione assured her Mother.

"And your friend...what's his name...Neville?"

"He's good."

"You haven't made any new friends yet?"

"It's hard for me mum," Hermione began.

"I know honey, and I'm not pushing you, but you really ought to try." Mrs. Granger advised.

"I'll try." Hermione whispered.

"I know you will honey. How about those...Quiddit games...you could go to one of those, try to socialise a little bit."

"Yeah, maybe I will."

In truth, Hermione wasn't a big Quidditch fan, and the only times she ever went was when Neville asked her to go with him. She didn't mind, it wasn't that bad, and it was good to watch Harry Potter fly. She almost blushed at the thought. Like most girls at Hogwarts, Hermione was in awe of Harry Potter.

As she expected, he was very powerful and very smart, but that was about the only thing she knew about him. He wasn't a very forthcoming person. In fact, he was quite mysterious, which Hermione was sure why most girls liked him. He didn't really socialise either, choosing to stay out the spotlight, and Hermione would wonder why he liked playing Quidditch so much, but she only had to watch him to know the answer. He clearly loved it. And with his strange talent of being able to make himself disappear, she was sure he could easily avoid the crowd. Sometimes days went by and nobody would see Harry, except for in classes. Most people regarded him with fear as well as admiration. He was almost too powerful and it scared people. The fact he was in Slytherin didn't help. Hermione had even heard people suggest he might be the next Dark Lord himself. Hermione wasn't sure.

But one thing was for sure. Harry Potter was definitely an interesting character. Could you blame her for having the occasional daydream about him? She had been daydreaming about him before they even met, fantasising about being his friend, and lately, something more. But that's all it was - a fantasy. He didn't even know she existed.

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