All rights belong to JKR.

Chapter One: Taunts

Go home, Mudblood. We don't want you here.

His words echoed through the stone hall at Hogwarts.

The sneer ruined his rather decent looks. His arrogant air of superiority, slivered eyes, and cutting words were meant to put her in her place. They were meant to strip her of value and leave her hanging, friendless in this new world of magic. Surrounded by his elitist friends who stared down the smaller girl, he willed her to GO AWAY. But he didn't want her to leave quietly, no, not at all. He wanted to hurt her until she left in tears.

Hermione Granger stared back at Draco Malfoy. This was a battle of wills, so she willed herself to be strong. She lifted her head and compressed her lips to hide their trembling. She narrowed her eyes back at him unflinchingly, but turned her back on the crowd of Sytherins without saying a word. She couldn't possibly say anything at that moment, because if she did speak right then, she might cry.

As she turned away, Draco Malfoy and his friends hooted with triumph over the Mudblood who was clueless about magical ways for all her enthusiasms in class. They grinned at one another, nodding their heads at their small victory. They berated little Hermione Granger for her hair, her swottiness, her buck teeth, but mostly for her lack of magical heritage. All they wanted was for this particular Mudblood to go home and stay home. That wasn't too much to ask, was it? Their ruthless laughter cut through her soul.

Mudbloods don't belong here.

The ache inside turned her cold until her very bones hurt. Her eyes were stinging but she refused to let tears fall. Isolated, lonely, and friendless was how she felt, but anger kept her going. She felt like she was moving through thick water that kept her from running to safety. She was paralyzed, reliving the pain over and over. Worst of all was the knowledge that the other children disliked her so much that they wanted her to feel such pain. How could they be so cruel? She would NEVER do that to another soul. Every person had value. Even a Mudblood. Even a Pureblood, though it galled her to admit it.

She thought of Harry living in a cupboard under the stairs, Ron wearing hand-me-downs from his older brothers, Neville chasing his toad, and Luna floating through an imaginary world. In Malfoy's eyes, those kids were inferior. She was inferior. But she knew it was a lie. She pitied him.

And that, dear friends, is what made Hermione Granger different from the average witch. She not only refused to let her pain crush her; she rose above it and made a decision to never treat others so cruelly. Hermione Granger became known as the "Greatest Witch of Her Time" but was it because of her magic? Her talent? Her brains? I prefer to think that it was because of her sheer determination.

Hermione Granger, ironically thanks to her enemy Draco Malfoy, learned a valuable lesson on this day as well as the days that followed. She discovered that she had principles. Those principles gave her strength to rise above her own pain while still being sensitive to the pain of others. It gave her the desire to fight for justice and to treat others well. It made Hermione Granger a heroine before she ever had the opportunity to help Harry Potter save the wizarding world.