Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. His world belongs to the fabulous JK Rowling.

Year One

Hermione fiddled with the hem of her shirt.
"Mum, what are we going to do?" She turned to her parents, who were looking at the wall separating platforms 9 and 10.
"I don't know, Hermione. We will figure it out though. This is exactly why we left early, in case of any problems." Her mother replied.
"Excuse me, but are you lost?" An elderly woman with a large hat and handbag had approached them. Behind her stood a pudgy boy holding a toad with trunks similar to Hermione's.
"No, we are fine. Thank you." Hermione's father answered. The woman glanced around.
"Are you for Hogwarts?" She whispered.
"Yes!" Hermione answered eagerly. The woman smiled.
"My grandson, Neville, is a first year too. To get to Platform 9 and ¾, you must take a run at the wall. It's quite simple, really. You can watch Neville and I, and then follow us." She smiled warmly.
"Are you sure?" Mr. Granger asked, unsure.
"Just watch." The woman turned to her grandson. "Come along, Neville." The boy clutched his toad in one hand, and pushed the trolley with the other. He clumsily trotted, with his grandmother briskly walking in front of him. They were just about to hit the wall when they vanished.
"Bloody hell…" Mr. Granger muttered.
"Are you ready?" Hermione asked her parents, eagerly. She tightened her grip on her trolley and began running towards the wall with her parents. She noticed her parent's hesitation just before the wall, but she blazed on and suddenly, a scarlet train was just ahead of her. A sign said "Platform 9 and 3/4". Hermione grinned. She had done it; she was on her way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Hermione quickly stood up and left the compartment, hoping she hadn't made a complete fool of herself in front of the cute red-haired boy named Ron Weasley, and the famous Harry Potter.
"Alright, Neville. You take that side of the train and I will take the other side." She instructed. Neville only nodded. As Hermione went down each compartment, she couldn't help but let her mind drift back to Ron and Harry. She had attended Parkwell Academy for Girls before being accepted to Hogwarts, so she had never dealt with boys before. And Ron was definitely the cutest boy she had ever seen. Harry had seemed really nice too. Maybe making friends won't be as hard as I thought! She thought.

As she left, Ron thought that he had never met a more annoying know-it-all in his life, and he lived with Percy. As Harry and him begrudgingly changed into their robes, he hoped that he wouldn't be put into the same house as the annoying Hermione Granger.

Dear Mum and Dad,
My first week of classes are done. Everything is going well. I'm having a lot of fun.

Hermione stopped writing. She hated lying to her parents. Her first week at Hogwarts was not going to plan. Yes, her classes were great, but she was having a very difficult time making friends. Even now, she sat in the girl's dormitory alone. She thought she would be able to make friends easily, because she was really intelligent. That's how she made all her old friends at Parkwell Academy, but at Hogwarts, it seemed like people didn't like that she was smart. Her only sort-of friend was Neville, and that was because, like Hermione, no one really liked him. She had hoped to become friends with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, but they seemed to especially dislike her. She tried to forget that she thought Ron was cute, and it was usually pretty easy with how busy she was with homework. She sighed and put her quill down. There was no point writing to her parents, when she had nothing to tell them.

"It's no wonder no one can stand her. She's a nightmare, honestly." Ron told Harry as they walked out of class. Hermione bumped into Harry as she hurried away, head down, trying to cover the tears escaping her eyes.
"I think she heard you." Harry said, weakly. Ron's stomach dropped.
"So? She must've noticed she's got no friends." He said, a guilty knot forming in his stomach that only tightened as the day went on and he noticed Hermione was absent from class. He wanted to ask Harry about it, but he didn't want to seem worried about her. When Parvati mentioned that Hermione had been crying in the girl's bathroom all day long, the knot tightened even more. Even the fantastic Halloween meal couldn't take his mind off of it.

Hermione wiped her nose for the hundredth time. I hate him. I hate him so much. She thought. She had, like Parvati was telling everyone, been in the bathroom all day. She couldn't show her face, not after what Ron had said. When she heard him complaining about her, it was the final straw. She couldn't do it anymore. She was leaving tomorrow. She didn't belong here. Maybe she could learn magic at home, by herself. She was just about to leave and talk to Professor Dumbledore, when a foul stench filled her nose. She turned around, and her heart almost stopped. Before her, stood, what she could only guess was, a troll. He stared stupidly around the room, before his eyes feel on her. He took one step towards her, and she let out a terrified scream. That only confused the troll, and he swung his giant arms around, knocking out a sink. Hermione fell down, covering her face from the falling sink pieces. Her heart was pounding as he took another step forward. She seemed to be paralyzed with fear. Then, suddenly, Ron and Harry were standing across the room. She couldn't hear what Harry yelled to Ron, but Ron grabbed the tap from the broken sink and began hitting it on the wall. The troll became confused, and lumbered away from Hermione and towards the boys. He turned towards Ron after he threw a pipe at it, and Harry was able to run around the troll.

When Hermione went to bed that night, she smiled. It was a rough beginning, but she knew that tonight changed everything between her, Harry and Ron. And she was very, very grateful for that ugly troll.

As Ron skimmed another ancient book from the library, Hermione rushed around, piling more books on the table.
"We aren't going to be able to go through all of these tonight, especially since Harry is at Quidditch practice." He told her.
"I know, but I want to write their title's down anyway, for future reference." She explained, dropping a leather-bound book on to the pile.
"We have been trying to find who Flamel is for months. I can't believe we haven't found a trace of him in any of these books." Complained Ron.
"Maybe if you and Harry had actually cracked open a book during Christmas Break, we would have." Snapped Hermione. Ron rolled his eyes.
"We had better things to do."
"Then stop complaining. There has to be something in one of these books, I'm sure of it." It was quiet as they both read. When Ron finished skimming his book, he closed it and rubbed his eyes.
"I am done for the night."
"No you aren't. There are two other books you can read before we leave." Hermione said, without even looking up from her book.
"My eyes are tired."
"Really, Ron. You were just complaining about not finding out who Flamel is, but you won't help find out?"
"I want to help, but I'm not going to read three books in one night!"
"Fine, then you can always study for exams."
"Who are you? My mother?" Hermione's head shot up, her brown eyes narrowed.
"I am just trying to help you, Ron. You don't need to be such a prick."
"Oh, I'm the prick? Really, because I'm not the one telling people what to do."
"I'm not telling you what to do! I'm suggesting that you study for exams! They are a lot closer than you think!"
"Not hardly, Hermione. You're probably the only one who has even thought about them."
"Well, I'm sorry for being a good student and preparing for exams that will determine if we can actually come back here next year!" She said, in a huff.
"Oh, give me a break. Do you honestly think you aren't going to come back here next year?"
"If I fail my exams, they won't let me!" Her eyes bright; she was clearly very worried about this. Ron sighed.
"Hermione, you are the best in class. There is no way you are going to fail any of your exams. You are too good of a student for that to happen." Her eyes softened.
"You really think that?"
"Of course! Why do you think Harry and I ask you for help so much?" He said, with a smirk. She laughed.
"I suppose you're right." She looked back down at the book, and then suddenly closed it.
"Will you teach me how to play wizard's chess?" She asked. Ron grinned.
"Sure. But I'm warning you, you aren't going to beat me."

Ron watched Hermione pace back and forth in front of the fire, as Harry ran up the steps to the boy's dormitory.
"What are we doing? We must be mad." She muttered.
"Obviously." Ron shook his head. Hermione stopped her pacing and looked at Ron.
"You don't think that Snape will… try to kill Harry, do you?" She asked, eyes large with fright. Ron's face was grim.
"We won't let that happen." He said, fiercely. Hermione's heart did a flip, as Harry ran back down the steps, with the cloak and flute.

"Ron! Ron, please wake up! Oh!" Hermione cried. She had already checked his head wound, and cleaned some of the blood away. She reached for her wand, racking her brain for any charm that would help her. "Aguamenti!" She pointed her wand at Ron's face. A jet of water streamed out of the tip and sprayed all over his face. He quickly reacted, and jumped up.
"Hermione!" He yelled.
"I'm sorry! I didn't know what else to do!" Ron held a hand up, his face suddenly very pale.
"Just… shush. I think I'm going to be sick." The sudden movement had quickly caught up with him. There was silence as Ron waited for the sickness to fade.
"Where's Harry?" He asked, realizing his best friend wasn't there.
"On the other side, I suspect, with Snape. Only one person could continue. We have to go now, and warn Dumbledore. Are you ok?"
"Yes, I'm fine." He tried to stand up, but he was too weak to do it alone.
"Put an arm around me." Hermione instructed. After a few awkward moments, they finally were able to make it across the room, through the key room, and up the trapdoor, by Hermione using a spell she had read in one of her many books. They scrambled by Fluffy, and by then Ron was already feeling stronger, so they were able to run back to the main staircase, just when Dumbledore came flying down the stairs.
"Harry's gone after him, hasn't he?" Before they could even answer, he was off.
"What do we do now?" Ron asked.
"I'm taking you to Madam Pomfrey. I did the best I could with your head wound, but it still needs attention." They set off for the medical wing, at a much slower pace.
"I hope Harry's alright." Hermione muttered.
"Me too." Ron said, grimly.
"You were really brave, during the chess game." Complimented Hermione. Ron blushed.
"Thanks. It was like any other chess game, though. Any wizard could do it."
"But would any wizard risk their life so we could continue on?"
That only made Ron blush harder.
"I had to do it." He mumbled, avoiding her gaze.
"I know. But thanks, all the same." There was a moment of silence, before Ron said,
"You're welcome."

Ron watched Harry walk off to join his Aunt and Uncle. Hermione had just spotted her parents, and was gathering her luggage.
"Bye, Ron. You better write this summer." She said. He laughed.
"Fat chance. Maybe you and Harry can visit though, later."
"Maybe." She said, with a smile.
"Ron! Say goodbye to your girlfriend, and let's go!" Fred yelled. Ron's ears turned red, as Hermione's cheeks blushed.
"Bye." Ron mumbled. He grabbed his trunk and left, before Hermione could say goodbye back.

A few notes:

1) If you have any scenes you want me to specifically do/discuss for future chapters, let me know!

2) Any feedback you have is fantastic. I haven't wrote anything for awhile and would love any and all criticisms

3) Ron and Hermione are the best :)