Things have been different at Hogwarts, that didn't mean that all was positive.

Some of the positive and interesting things about Hogwarts were the Changing Staircase, how many hidden and secret passages one could stumble upon and of course the classes themselves. Soon, every first year found out that magic was more than waving their wands and saying silly words. They had to study the theory behind the charm, hex and curse. Take notes on what each spell could do learn the proper name pronunciation and the correct wand movement as well. Most first years have yet to preform any display of magic for their classes, instead they were given homework, though Hermione wasn't hindered by this.

To Hermione's dismay, she wasn't able to make friends like she wanted to. Instead everyone stirred completely clear of her for the simple fact that she would raise her hand (after a few moments to see if someone else would answer) to answer any and all questions the professors ask, giving them the textbook accurate answers. Not to mention that when it came to the rules, she respected them as if they were the Holy Grail. She tried to not let their actions bother her, but it was hard when her own dorm-mates talked about her when they thought her asleep.

These things paled in comparison to the fact that Draco hadn't approached her since the start of term.

It's now been two weeks since then and all he has done is avoid her completely. Hermione, for her part, had stayed away from him at the beginning, but then tried to approach him when his bodyguards weren't around, only for him to turn and walk away from her. After the fourth attempt she stopped trying, hurt by his actions.

Her only escapes; were to swim in the Lake, away from the pain, the comments, the nicknames, all of it, and the library were she had found a secluded corner for her to relax and hidden, even though any student stepped foot in the library since it was still early term.

Every night, under the cover of darkness and with Professor's Dumbledore pass with her at al times, she would explore the Lake as much as possible, and every night she would swim by the Slytherin Common Room to peek inside and watch in sadness as Draco would sit there, looking like her ruled them all before returning to the castle.

Now, here she sat. In the secluded corner on the library she had claimed as her own. Taking notes and studying ahead as always. She once again had the place practically to herself since no one ever went to the library. As she took notes, her mind went back to her first class of Potions, making her quill stop mid sentence as she recalled the events that happened.

Flashback:

She had woken up early so as to not have to find an alternate route due to the Changing Staircase. Hermione quickly got her school robes from her trunk and proceeded to the bathroom they all shared for a quick bath. This has been Hermione's morning routine since she arrived. One of the good things humans had was that they could shower and be done quickly, for a mermaid there is no such thing as a shower sadly. At least not until she was a bit more matured.

Once done with her bath, she got dressed, brushed her teeth and combed her hair as best as she could. Her hair had turned extremely frizzy now that she spent more time out of water. 'I'll have to ask mom for some hair product,' Hermione thought as she got out of the bathroom and left the dorms after getting her bag just as the other girls had begun to stir.

She felt proud of herself when she reached the Great Hall with no interruptions or trouble from either other students or the school's resident poltergeist known as Peeves. Said poltergeist loves to pull pranks on every student and even some professors, though he respected the Weasley twins to a degree and even helped them in some pranks. The only ones able to keep him in check were Professor Dumbledore and The Bloody Baron, the ghost of Slytherin House. As if that wasn't enough, the castle itself seemed to love playing its own pranks on the students by making them believe some doors were real when they were fake or make them move around or having to tickle them at a certain spot to get them to open.

Worst of all, was the current school caretaker Mr. Filch and his cat Mrs. Norris. If you put a toe out of line in her presence, she will run towards her master and be back faster than one could blink. Everyone hated them and a lot of people would pay a good price just to give Mrs. Norris a good kick. 

Sitting down on the Gryffindor table she got a plate full of breakfast and began to eat as she checked her timetable and smiled when she realized that she had Potions today, finally. She was not only hopping to show her talents to the resident Potion's Master, but to see if she could talk to Draco during the two hour long class period.

She had decided to give the Slytherin space to let him adjust and calm down. Her eyes scanned the Slytherin table for the familiar platinum/blonde bed of hair. She found him and watched as he talked with what she assumed were his friends before his gaze moved to meet hers. Quickly she averted her gaze back to her food and paper. Her mind took her to the times were she would look at him, only for her to avoid her gaze completely, making her feel a little hurt.

Putting away her timetable, she took out her copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi and began to read it again as she ate and drank some pumpkin juice. She had developed a certain liking to the beverage. As she ate, she noticed as the rest of her classmates joined the table before class (she will never understand why they got up late when they had classes soon after breakfast), and heard as the youngest Weasley complained about having double Potions today with the Slytherins and how Professor Snape, their Head of House favors them.

Rolling her eyes at his antics, she put away her book and followed the rest of the Gryffindor and Slytherin first year to the Dungeons for Potions.

The lower into the Dungeons they went, the colder it got. Most, if not all Gryffindor's were huddled together to try and keep warm, Hermione included. She had yet to grow used to being cold outside of water. Add to the fact that she had to make sure not to get wet due to the dampness of the Dungeons or have a potion hit her.

Once they reached the classroom they all walked in and instantly divided themselves with their respective Houses. The Gryffindor's, after sitting down, huddled as close as they could towards the flames of their respective cauldrons for even the smallest hint of warmth. Hermione sat in the middle near the front and was joined by Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Needless to say, they weren't exactly pleased with her presence, but she ignored it for at that moment the door opened with a loud bang and in walked Professor Snape, his robes flowing behind him as he made his way to the front of the now silent class.

He started the roll call and once he reached Harry's name, stopped and turned to look at him. The look he's giving him, Hermione could only describe it as a look of loathing. Total and absolute loathing.

"Ah yes," his voice soft but could be heard clearly by all. "Harry Potter. Our new celebrity."

Professor Snape finished calling out their names and looked at the class with his onyx eyes, making Hermione feel like he was looking through each and every one of them. That thought sent her into a small panic that was cut short when he started talking.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking" he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death -- if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Most Gryffindor's were shivering in both cold and anger at Snape's last comment, while the Slytherin's looked at their Head of House with awe. Some wore smug looks on their faces, Draco included.

Hermione sat straight in her seat, her hands on her lap as she tried to get them to stop from shaking. She was eager to show she wasn't a dunderhead as Snape had said.

Little did she know that her plan would backfire in the coming days.

"Potter!" said Snape suddenly, making a few jump. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Hermione turned to Harry, only to find him looking at Prof. Snape with a confused and lost look. So she slowly raised her hand, hoping for a chance to prove herself to her professor she new her Potion's ingredients and uses. When Harry replied he didn't know, Snape almost smirked.

"Tut, tut -- fame clearly isn't everything."

He ignored Hermione's hand.

"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Hermione, with her hand still up, felt warning bells at that question. Before she had read her Potion's book, she had been taught by some members in her pod gifted in Potion making. The most important lesson was on how to counter poisons. So for Prof. Snape to be asking a somewhat advanced questioned worried her but she kept her hand up.

Once more, Harry answered he didn't know. "Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?"

Hermione could feel Harry's anger towards their Potions Prof. who still ignored her raised hand.

"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

At that, Hermione's hand lowered a few inches as she stared at her Prof. with growing worry and uneasiness. She heard Harry say he should ask her since she clearly knew the answer to his questions, and lowered her hand after Snape ordered her to do so. Snape then went and answered the questions he had asked Harry and then told the class to copy it down. To make matters worse, he took a point form the House of Lions because of Harry's cheek.

Things didn't look up after that.

Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils, and that was it. He didn't explain what each ingredients were, what their properties were and how to handle them when mixing them. Hermione also noticed that the instructions that had appeared on the board, were not only in to small a letter for the class to see and understand in the dark classroom, but were also missing steps on how to brew the potion.

Every Slytherin were looking at the book for instructions and not the board, unlike the Gryffindor's that were trying to follow the board's instructions, with the exception of a select few.

Hermione started working with her partner; who she had told to follow the instructions on the book and not on the board, and hoped that the rest of her House realized what was right and wrong with the way they were brewing.

She took a chance and looked at the direction in which Draco was working with his potion and saw how Prof. Snape actually complimented his skills and how well he was doing. He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Draco had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon.

Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.

Prof. Snape, instead of trying to calm him down, insulted him before vanishing the ruined potion with a wave of his wand and stated, though he made it sound like a question, the step he did wrong before sending him to the Hospital Wing with Seamus. To add insult to the situation, he singled Harry out and accused him of not telling Neville of the danger to make himself look better, and took another point from Gryffindor.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Harry look up at Prof. Snape with pure hatred. Thankfully Ron stopped him from making the situation worse, while the Slytherin's not just at Harry, but at Gryffindor House in total.

By the end of the class, every student had bottled up their potion and handed it over to Prof. Snape and the Gryffindor's all but flew out of the classroom when the bell rang. Hermione was among the last to do so and felt what little respect she had for Prof. Snape dwindle and vanish.

End Flashback

Since that day, Hermione was labeled a pariah not only among the Gryffindors, but to the Ravenclaws, who valued knowledge and intelligence. They gave her looks of annoyance and anger when near her, and have her a wide berth, avoiding her completely.

Shaking her head and closing her eyes for a moment to stop the tears from falling, she returned to her notes, failing to notice she was no longer alone.

"Granger"

Jumping in her seat, she looked up and found herself looking into the eyes of a certain blond Slytherin that had ignored her for almost half a month.

"Not very aware of what happens around you I see." His tone was a little smug and playful. Hermione stared in silence at him, her shock slowly turning to anger.

Draco noticed the silence and the change in aura from Hermione. Looking at her he barely stopped himself from flinching. He had avoided her for weeks and felt a little guilt because of his actions.

A scrapping sound brought him back to the present and noticed that Hermione was standing up and putting away her belongings.

"Wait, Granger-"

"Don't 'Granger' me Malfoy." She said his surname with such venom he was surprised he wasn't dead from it. "I gave you space, gave you time to gather your thoughts and settle into Hogwarts. I waited and when I thought enough time had passed, I go and try to approach you only for you to ignore me and turn away."

The hope he had to make it up to her was slowly diminishing with her words.

He messed up, big time.

"I thought you understood why-"

"Oh I understand, Malfoy. Still that doesn't mean it didn't hurt when I tried to approach you, or at the very least make eye contact with you when alone, to still turn away from me." Hermione's voice was strained with the effort of keeping it down so as to not call the attention of Madam Pince. "I tried...you didn't."

With that, she put her bag over her shoulder and started walking down one of the many aisle of bookcases before her wrist was grabbed and pulled her to stop by the Slytherin she was trying to get away from. Though sh kept her back to him.

"I'm sorry Hermione, I truly am sorry. I know I messed up and made things worse by ignoring you. It's why I here, looking for you. I know you spend a lot of your free time here, even when you skip meals."

That little revelation made Hermione slowly turn around and look at him.

Sure it wasn't a secret she spent most of her time in the library, but the fact that Draco knew surprised her. "How do you know?"

Blushing, Draco stares back at her, "I've kept an eye out for you. When you're not looking, I watch how you're doing and try to keep track on where you go and when. Haven't you wondered why they Slytherin first years have left you alone most of the time?"

Now that she thought about it, she had noticed that out of all the Houses, the Slytherin's were the once that didn't really bothered her other than the usual sneer and glare her way. Then again Slytherin and Gryffindor were rivals so she didn't think it was that odd.

"You mean to tell me, they aren't bothering me because you had something to do with it?"

"I told them to not waste their time on you, and before you ask about the older ones, they are always busy studying or whatever." Draco explained as his heart raced with new hope that she would not turn away. "I want to be your friend Hermione, we just have to...I don't know, find an excuse or solution that could work for us without raising suspicion."

Both looked in different directions, trying to come up with ideas.

Suddenly, Hermione turns to him with a small shine in her eyes. "How about we meet here every other day or so and study together?"

"Not such a good idea. People will see us."

"No they won't, no one comes to this area of the library, and if they do, the table I sit at is well hidden and secluded from anyone."

Draco thought about it and was going to say something before Hermione continued. "If your worried about what your...friends will say, tell them you have some sort of agreement or...blackmail material on me. Something along those lines."

Draco didn't miss how she practically spat the word 'friends' at him. He couldn't really blame her.

"Alright...do you forgive me?"

Hermione looked into his eyes, noticing how he was holding his breath, waiting for her response. On one hand he had hurt her with him ignoring her for weeks; while on the other he had made his fellow first years ignore her as much as possible along with paying attention to what she did, where she went and when. She only hopes he doesn't uncover the truth of what she is. Yet.

"On one condition."

"What's that?" Draco asked, rather quickly he realized but didn't care at the moment. He didn't want to lose this chance.

"You stop stalking me in such a way," was her response with a small smile and watched as Draco blinked once, twice before his shoulders slumped in some relief at her request. She had to stop herself from giggling at his reaction.

"I can't promise I'll stop, I can tell you I will try." At her raised eyebrow, he smirked. "I'm a Slytherin after all."

The tension broke as both chuckled a little and returned to the secluded table Hermione had claimed as her own. Taking out their books, inks, quills and parchment, they got to work in a comfortable silence.

As their work progressed, Draco noticed how Hermione would pause in her writing and he looked at her, only to find her looking at different books at the same time before continuing her work.

"You should tone down your eagerness to answer each and every question the professors ask Granger."

At his words, said brunet looked at him in anger. Before she could retort, Draco continued, "I don't mean mean to sound rude or to take away your chances of answering correctly. I say this because it's the reason you're mocked. By everyone."

"So I should just stop volunteering to answer, hoping the rest of the students will approach me?"

"Will you let me finish?!" Draco said with barely contained annoyance and looking around for Madam Pince. "I say it because that way you give the rest a chance to answer and to learn. Not to mention that, even though you wait for a few moments, the way you're going about it is...well rude."

Hermione felt like she's been slapped. She didn't know if she should put away her things and walk away once more or hit him with one of her heavier books.

She opted to just take deep breaths and calm down. Once achieved, she turns to Draco again and sees that he was tense, as if waiting for a blow or strong loud words from her part.

He was spared this time.

"How could it possibly be rude...and to whom exactly?"

Taking a deep breath, Draco explained. "It's rude that, even though you wait a moment or so before raising your hand, you deny the professor the chance to choose someone from the class even if their hand wasn't up in the air. That's how most students will learn. Yes it's not the best way...for you and others but its how teachers can see and make assessments on how well the students know the material...or even if they've read their books."

Hermione had to acknowledge that Draco's words made sense. She slowly nodded to him, seeing and understanding that the explained method may help others more. "You haven't answered who finds my methods insulting."

"Purebloods," he answered without missing a beat. "Along with some Half-Bloods."

"Why would they find it insulting?"

"We were raised a certain way, different than what you were raised."

'You've no idea how right you are.'

"That's how we act and behave in class. We only raise our hand when the professor has moved on from the student that couldn't answer their question."

They both sat in silence for some time before Hermione nodded her head at him in acceptance to his explanation and advice. While she thought most, if not all Pureblood methods and upbringing are wrong and prejudice; a few of their ways and upbringing were fair.

"Alright Draco, I see your point and, while I can't promise that I will stop. I promise that I'll try on holding back on my urge to raise my hand. Muggles only use the method you explained in college."

"What's college?"

Hermione couldn't hold back her giggle.

The underlined sentences/paragraphs in this chapter are from the first Harry Potter book, chapter 8.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter!