(A/N) Hel-LO all you wonderful amazing people out there who have not given up on my story! I <3 you all sosososo MUCH! I know, I know I'm being so sappy and sentimental, but I just can't hide the fact that I'm so incredibly happy that you're reading my story! Yay! Ok, I'll stop after the 5th chapter but whatever. Now that I've gotten a Draco chapter into the mix, I'll keep switching between their perspectives (unless I want to be weird and do it differently) so ya. I'll make the author's note shorter from now on because it's taking up so much space. But still, I'm so happy you're reading this fanfiction XD! Love you all so fricking much! Mwah!
-Iresine

Hermione
   "Woah, this is so cool." I whispered to myself, peering over the edge of the boat into the seemingly endless depths of the Black Lake. The glassy surface gently rippled as the boat silently glided through the waters, making the reflection of countless stars and myself slightly distorted.

   I looked upward at the stars, twinkling brightly in the night sky. The almost-full moon shone brightly next to the tiny light, a silver disk glowing on the dark indigo of the sky. A couple of other students and I were in small boats, lit by a lantern, rowing to my new school. I suddenly sensed movement in the water and immediately looked down, just in time to see a giant tentacle disappearing in the dark water.

   "OH MY GOSH WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!" A shrill voice screamed behind me.

   "Don't worry, it's just the giant sea monster. It's usually harmless." came an older sounding voice somewhere to my left.

   "USUALLY?!?!" shrieked the first voice.

   "Shush! We're here!" I hissed in the general direction of the voices, my eyes locked on the giant castle with bright windows towering over the tiny boats. It was so magnificent! It seemed to be made of stone, with large bright windows which shadows in the shape of people passed by once in a while. I had to crane my neck upwards to see the tops of the towers. I couldn't believe I was going to school here! My old school was just a simple 2 story brick building, and here... wow. It was just amazing.

   Then a sudden jerk of the boat brought me back to reality. And to the deck of the boat.

   We were here!

   But ow.

   I rubbed my chin, probably bruised and purple for the second time today, and scrambled over the edge of the boat as the tall man who - according to my studies - was named Rubeus Hagrid, opened a huge door. A large beam of golden light suddenly cast over us. I blinked in the sudden light and shielded eyes with one hand. I melted back into the large mob of kids that were heading into the large door. When I finally got inside, I gasped.

   Wow! I had thought Hogwarts was magnificent on the outside, but it was nothing compared to the inside. We were in a long, large hall, with long tables going almost the length of the room, with white candles floating above everything. (The candles were somehow not dripping wax on the students) The hall had a ceiling that was enchanted to look like the sky outside, which I had just learned. There was also a long table at the end of the hall facing the tables with adults - that I think were the proffesors - sitting at the chairs, overlooking the long tables filled with students, which I noticed were all older than us newcomers by various ages. I also noticed that each table was a mass of color; some red and gold, some blue and bronze, and others green and silver or yellow and black.

   We newbies all lined up single file along a parting of the tables in the middle and waited. I caught Mr. Hagrid's eye and waved him over.

     "What can I help you with?"

   "What are we doing?" I asked.

   "Get'in' sorted, o' course." He grinned, and walked away before I could ask him what that meant.

   My eyes veered to the front and saw a lady with black hair and square glasses standing next to a stool, - Professor McGonagall, I think - on which sat a worn brown hat. The hat was patched up in a lot of places, and had lots of wrinkles. I don't know if it's my imagination or something, but to me, the wrinkles kind of resembled a face. The professor held a piece of long, yellowed parchment that trailed behind her. In a loud, clear voice, she announced:

   "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." she paused, peering over her square glasses. "Abbott, Hannah!"

   We first years got called up, one by one, and sent back to a table with yells of GRYFFINDOR, RAVENCLAW, SLYTHERIN, or HUFFLEPUFF, after which the coordinating table erupted with cheers, welcoming their newest member. At last, it was my turn. I almost ran to the hat; I wanted so badly for this to be over, all the staring, and smashed the hat onto my head, over my eyes, like all the other students. And waited.

   "Ooo, this is an interesting one. Haven't got one of these in ages." A voice sounded in my head. I nearly jumped out of my skin, but managed not to. "Yes, yes, ah, here, plenty of intelligence, yes, very bright, highest in the class, I see, you'd do well in Ravenclaw but...oh, is that bravery I see? It is! Lots of it, oh, and courage too, you've got plenty to spare, oh, hm, wasn't expecting that, hmm.. difficult decision, yes, yes, very difficult...hm, I'll go with the biggest area,bravery, the attribute that is perfect for GRYFFINDOR!" The hat yelled the last word.

   I grinned, reading about these houses in Hogwarts, a History, stated that Gryffindor produced more than it's fair share of fine witches and wizards. I took of the hat and headed to the mass of red and gold, blushing profusely. I plopped down on the edge and turned my head to face the stool to watch the rest of the sorting. It ended with "Zabini, Blaise" being made into a Slytherin, then Professor McGonagall took the hat away and Headmaster Dumbledore stepped up to a phoenix stand. He had long, white hair and a long beard to match, and bright blue eyes behind semicircle spectacles.

   "Before the feast begins, I'd like to say a few words." he said. "Here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" and sat down at his seat again. I didn't know whether to laugh, or to act confused. But I was distracted by food magically appearing on the gold platters.

   "EEK!" I cried, jumping back from the table.

   "It's okay, this happens every year." said a girl older than me.

   I blushed and sat down again. Stop making a fool of yourself! I thought.

   But I was hungry.

   And the food smelled delicious.

   Chicken wings, fries, sandwiches, oh my!

   I licked my lips and started piling the food on my plate, eagerly attacking the yummy stuff. Maybe a bit too eagerly.

   "Whoops!" The chicken drumstick slipped from my fingers and landed on the floor behind me with a splat. Argh. I bent down to pick it up and felt a pair of eyes burning holes into my forehead. I looked up. And met a pair of silver eyes staring at me. A pair of silver eyes that looked away as soon as we made contact. A pair of silver eyes belonging to a white-blonde haired head at the Slytherin table. Malfoy, Draco. Draco Malfoy. The boy who called me a Mudblood. The boy who was sorted into Slytherin before the hat even touched his head. Malfoy. I glared at his hair, then tried to turn back to finish my food, but found that I couldn't. There was something about him, something, something that made me unable to look away. I squeezed my eyes shut and turned around to finish my food. But images of Malfoy kept flashing through my mind. I pushed him out of my head for the fifteenth hundredth time. But the images came back with more force this time, Malfoy smiling, Malfoy eating, Malfoy laughing, Malfoy running, Malfoy Malfoy Malfoy...

   "AHHHHHHHHH!!!"

   "Um, you alright?" A voice said. I looked up. Harry Potter was looking at me. The Harry Potter.

   "Ye-yeah, I'm fine." I smiled weakly. Why am I thinking of Malfoy? I'm not sure if it's hate, or something else...

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