A/N –What if Hermione had run into Snape on the day of their first year Halloween feast?

It's levi-Oh-sah not levio-saaah!

Hermione Granger ran as far as she could out of the sight of her so called classmates. They didn't understand, and for once neither did she. What was it that she was doing so wrong? That she'd always done wrong? Never once had she made a real friend, not since she was at the age where all children were chums.

Certainly not now, at a time when she thought that she was finally with people like herself.

Crying as she was, Hermione did not notice the black-cloaked figure that was walking the opposite direction to herself. Not until she walked into him.

"Miss Granger." That familiar voice began. "Why exactly are you attempting to single handedly flood this corridor?

Hermione shook her head and whimpered, attempting to stop the flow. A small squeak escaped when a gentle hand lifted her chin. "What is the matter?" He asked gently.

Hermione only shook her head again as she fought to put her feelings into words. "Nothing." She whispered, ducking her head once more. "Nothing of importance."

"Granger." Snape sighed and Hermione hiccupped in shock when he knelt down to look at her. "If someone has put you in this state then it is of importance. Would you like me to fetch someone else?"

She shook her head again. "No." she replied. "As I said, it is nothing. I-" She sniffed. "I just feel alone is all. I thought that I'd make friends here, because the magic was what made me different before, but I was wrong."

"Really?" Snape looked at her carefully. "Well, you are not the first student to feel that way, and I daresay that you won't be the last. I, too, felt that way when I first entered Hogwarts. "

"Really?" Hermione asked, and Severus Snape nodded. "Professor?" She started innocently. "Did it get any better?"

Severus inclined his head unsure of how to respond. He didn't want to lie to the girl. "I'm sure that once your classmates spend some time with you they will notice your good qualities shine through. And don't say you don't have any, because you do."

"How would you know that, sir?" Hermione asked, and Severus searched the young girl's expression for a trace of anything defiant or disrespectful, but she was genuinely asking.

"I've watched you, Miss Granger, and tales of your talents are circulating the staffroom already. You are clever, Hermione, and that will do more for you than being the class clown ever will. Remember that you are clever enough to know why they say what they do and that there may be a reason behind their behaviour."

Hermione swallowed thickly. "They didn't mean to upset me." She whispered. "He just didn't know how to respond to the fact that he did something wrong."

"Exactly." Severus smiled. "You'll find a lot of people like that I'm afraid, but if you wait it out you'll see that some of them will notice that they have done wrong and when the time comes they will find you to be invaluable to them. Feel any better?"

Hermione nodded, and Severus shot a glance towards the Great Hall. He never could get rid of the feeling that something bad would happen on Halloween.

"Good. Now, I would appreciate it if you don't mention this conversation to anyone and I shall do the same. Alright?"

Another nod and Severus was starting to worry about her speech capacity, however he ruffled her hair and stood. "You'll be fine kid. Try not to miss the feast; it usually is quite marvellous."

Albus's words, but he had no doubt that Hermione would find them to be true. The girl tended to look on the bright side; one way in which she was very different from him. He had been like her when he had joined, only for the fact that he had had one friend. She left too in the end, but there was no accounting for taste. Or brains.

Something that the Granger girl had more of than any other child in her year if not in Hogwarts. He found out later that day however why she was not in Ravenclaw. The girl was a Gryffindor through and through, if not Hufflepuff in her loyalty. She hadn't gone looking for the troll, something that they both knew. He'd also picked up the gist of the argument and had difficulty in hiding his smirk at finding out the spell which had defeated the troll.

The clever little witch had won the battle really, and although he didn't know her, he couldn't have felt more proud of her.

Because his prediction was correct and the intelligent kid had won.

A/N – So, just me going off on a tangent, really! Let me know what you think… even if you are thinking Huh? WTF?

Thanks for reading!

Kashi-Cookie-Monster

xxx