A/N: My Take on what Harry Potter should have been. My Personal opinion is JK severally messed up with her ships and pairings, this is my attempt to fix that. This is my First and I don't do anything in life halfway. By the time I am done this will be a huge story running into at least one sequel, might do an after years for a 3rd sequel depending on how many people want one. All mistakes are mine and mine alone, and not the fault of any Beta's I may acquire in the future as I currently have none.

WARNING: This is a Blanket Warning to advise you readers that I do plan on having sex scenes in the future. These may occur when the characters are still underage. No amount of whining or crying will be noticed because I'm warning you up front about this. I don't EXPECT things like this to occur much before the end of my first book which will be roughly at the end of Goblet of Fire as things are currently planned in my head. We shall see where my Muse takes me.

Disclaimer: I own Nothing Nada Zilch in the world of Harry Potter. This is JK Rowling's Playground, I'm just the bully.

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

Harry Potter is a Wizard. Of course if you had told this to him just a few weeks ago he would've thought you were barking mad. But a long fated visit by the biggest man he had even seen, one Rubeus Hagrid, had set into motion a chain of events that would forever change the face of the magical world. Harry didn't know this as he stood in front of the Hogwarts Express in awe. Moments ago he had been surrounded by non-magical folk wondering how to get onto platform 9 ¾ and now here he was. Thanks mainly to a family of odd red haired wizards Harry had taken his first true steps into the world of magic.

"Hurry along now dear, you don't wanna miss the train." Offered the kindly matron of the red haired family who had been so helpful already. With a nervous smile Harry pushed his trolley near one of the entrances and began unloading it onto the train, settling into a compartment with the young red haired boy he vaguely remembered being called Ron. They sat in nervous silence waiting for the train to start moving, both afraid and excited at the same time.

"First time then?" Ron asked excitedly.

"Yeah." Harry replied a little awkwardly. He was unaccustomed to light conversation. Harry had been raised by his Aunt and Uncle, and was more accustomed to being yelled at and ordered around than actually talking. Even the normal socializing acquired in school was lost to him because his cousin had made damn sure nobody had befriended him before.

"Oh! It's my first year too, you're going to love it!" Ron started excitedly. "It's a huge castle, and there's a lake and the Forbidden Forest. My brothers told me..." Harry listened in polite silence as Ron began telling tale after tale of his brother's time at Hogwarts. He listened to stories of potions and someone named Snape, evidentially he was a greasy git according to Ron's twin brothers Fred and George. Other stories told of magic and spells that seemed too wondrous to be real. Harry absorbed the information, and Ron seemed so excited that he never found any reason to shut up.

Harry's thoughts drifted in and out of the conversation. He found himself beginning to ask questions about some of the things Ron said. He asked about brooms and Quidditch, about charms and hexes and jinxes, about the castle itself and what it was like. Of course Ron didn't know all the answers but when he did it usually resulted in a long excited conversation, especially about Quidditch. For the first time in his life Harry Potter felt like he might be have a friend.

The trolley came by eventually, Ron had shrugged it off, saying he'd brought his own, but the sad look on his face prompted Harry to action. "We'll take the lot." He said maybe a little too loudly as he reach into his pocket grabbing a handful of coins he'd gotten from his bank earlier in the week. Ron's eyes bulged as he saw it but he didn't say anything, after all, who was he to complain about free candy? They ate their way through the various wonderful treat's, all of which were new to Harry. He tried Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and something called Treacle Tart which he thought was the best thing he had ever eaten. He'd seen Treacle Tart before but the Dursleys hadn't let him try any of it.

He was halfway through his third piece when the door slid open and a Bushy Headed little girl stuck her head in and started to ask "Have you all seen a…" but suddenly she stopped in the middle of her sentence. Her rich brown eyes had locked onto the emerald green eyes of Harry. They stared at each other in silence, neither quite sure what was going on. Time slipped away as they stared into each other's eyes, both seeing and not seeing. Harry's heart started to race and his palms grew sweaty. He wasn't sure why he couldn't stop looking at her eyes, it was almost as if he could see his self inside of them.

"Seen what?" Ron asked confused, not really noticing their stare.

"Umm what? Nothing. Never mind." She squeaked out as she turned and slammed the door shut. Harry had the sudden urge to run after her but didn't.

"What was that all about?" wondered Ron as he bit off a large chunk of taffy.

"No idea." Harry replied in a hushed voice staring at the glass of the now closed door.

"Mental that one"

The bushy haired witch stopped and leaned her back against the wall in the corridor hand resting over her racing heart. Questions raced through her head as she processed that indeterminable amount of time that she has just been staring into that boy's eyes. Who was he? Why couldn't I look away from him? Why was he staring at me? Why is my heart racing? Why is my stomach fluttering? Question after question filled her mind. She'd read about stuff kinda like this, but that kind of reaction to someone was all in fairy tales wasn't it? Why am I even thinking about this at all I mean I'm just 11!

"Hermione? Did you find Trevor." Neville asked as he came into the same hall.

"Umm no. Sorry, I'm sure he'll show up though." She said quickly before running off back towards her own compartment.

Neville watched her race off dumbfounded. "Mental." He muttered to himself before moping back to his own compartment.

Hermione closed the door and sat down. She tried to ignore the pair of giggly girls sitting across from her, they were talking about how this is the year Harry Potter was supposed to come to Hogwarts. Of course Hermione knew who Harry Potter was, he was often talked about in the very books they'd be covering in class. He was the-boy-who-lived. Somehow as a child he had been able to undo the darkest wizard of all time. But Hermione wasn't thinking about Harry Potter right now, she was thinking of that little boy she had seen. Well no not little, he was probably a first year just like her, but he did seem scrawny for 11. 'In a cute way though' she thought with a grin.

Giving a great sigh she decided to try to drown out her thoughts by doing what she did best, reading. Grabbing her already learned by heart copy of 'Hogwarts: A History' she settled in and tried to take her mind off the green eyed boy.

"Oh! I'm Ron by the way, Ron Weasley" Said Ron offering his hand to harry.

Reaching out to shake it Harry replied, "Hello I'm, Harry Potter." The next few minutes were quite odd to Harry. He wasn't exactly sure if making a fish face was a normal wizarding custom when introducing yourself, but decided not to mimic Ron just in case it was the aftershock of a particularly sour Bertie bean or something.

"Ha-Harry Potter?" Ron finally managed to gasp "you mean you're really him? Like the scar and everything, you're not pulling my leg?"

"Nope" Harry replied lifting his bangs so Ron could see the scar. "Don't know how I got it exactly, been there since I was a baby. But Hagrid said something about it having to do with somebody named Voldemort." Ron looked visibly ill for a moment before Harry remembered. "Oh sorry, yeah, he-who-must-not-be-named."

"You mean you don't really know?" Ron asked. "You don't, you know, remember it? Lucky that I guess really. Sorry didn't mean to sound rude there… It's just, I dunno, expected you to be bigger or something." he finished with a chuckle.

"Not sure what you mean, but no, I'm just me I guess. Hagrid said I was famous, guess it never sank in till now. Seems a bit silly really, being famous for something I don't even remember. " Harry sighed "Do me a favor though, don't make a big deal out of it for me, I'd be perfectly happy going back and telling you my name was Mickey Mouse or something."

"My dad said something about a mouse named Mickie once. He always wondered how he got away with being a walking talking mouse without breaking the Statute of Secrecy. I mean obviously a mouse isn't supposed to be that big, or talk, so it's gotta be magic right?" Ron asked as if it was obviously a big scandal.

"Well no, you see it's a costume…" Harry began. This time he took center stage, explaining things in the Muggle world to Ron. He didn't seem to really understand what Harry was trying to explain, but he just enjoyed talking to him. Somehow they both knew this was the beginning of a great friendship.

"Grrrrrr!' Hermione growled throwing her book back in the trunk with a huff. She couldn't take her mind off him. Who was he? Why did she feel the need to go see him again? Maybe even just peek in the window of his compartment a little bit. She'd read about love at first sight but this was crazy! 'I'm ELEVEN' she screamed in her mind.

"Are you okay?" asked the Blonde sitting across from her "You seem like, really upset or something"

Realizing she was making a scene Hermione mumbled something about "not liking trains" before she took off into the corridor once more. She had to know more about this boy. Steeling herself she headed down the train once again determined to make less of an ass out of herself this time.

As she neared his compartment she stopped and leaned against the wall again. Her heart was already fluttering in anticipation. She stood there for a few minutes trying to stop the impeding panic attack from rising up again. 'No' she said to herself. 'This is ridiculous, all this over some boy. You can do this Hermione, just go in there and introduce yourself. Talk to him, it can't be all that crazy.' She leaned her head back and focused on the ceiling for a few minutes, trying to find some flaw or something to focus on the keep her mind occupied about something other than her plans. Finally with a sigh she turned and laid her hand on the door.

"So what you're telling me is that it's all a lie? I mean there is no walking talking duck named Donald either?" asked Ron incredulously.

"Nope, and no dog named goofy." finished Harry.

"Wow…"

Harry sat there letting Ron absorb the information. Evidentially Ron's father was a huge fan of Disney but didn't exactly understand that it was all costume's and such. It is almost unreasonable that the magical world didn't grasp concepts that Harry had known all his life. Here he thought this mystical magical world he was entering was infallible but the more he thought on it the more he realized he had been wrong. This wasn't like some secret club that existed in the normal world only known to few people, this was a whole other culture. More un-alike than even the English and the Aborigines in their perceptions of the world. Here was something totally new and amazing. Not that Harry was complaining really, He'd grown up in the muggle world and it had done very little for him. No he decided then and there, this world, this culture, this is where he belonged.

He was soon interrupted from his musing when the door slowly slid open again and he caught sight of the same bushy headed girl from earlier. She seemed cautious as she entered the room and seemed to look everywhere but at Harry's face. Finally without word she entered and sat down next to him. They all seemed to be waiting for something. Harry and Ron were confused by her actions as she sat there. I mean why did she come here again. Why wasn't she talking? Most Importantly Who the Hell is she?

"Excuse me?" started Harry a bit confused "Can I help you with something?"

The girl snapped out of her daze and smiled in embarrassment. "Sorry," she finally spoke, "Got lost in thought there for a moment. My name is Hermione, just wanted to apologize for earlier you know, that was a bit… anyway the question I meant to ask earlier have you seen a Toad? Seems this boy Neville lost his." Well it was true she reasoned, even though at least an hour had passed since she stopped looking for the toad, maybe that boy Neville had found it by now.

"Nope haven't seen one, but if we do I'll let you know." Ron answered a bit annoyed, I mean it is a bit odd isn't it? Harry shot him a look that clearly said behave, but hey he wasn't the one acting all mental.

"I'm sorry Hermione I haven't seen it, but I'd say if you haven't found it in the last hour or so it's a good time to give up isn't it? I'm Harry by the way, and this is Ron." He offered his hand out to her and she stared at it a moment before glancing up at his forehead. Somehow he knew she was scanning for the scar, and only hoped she didn't react quite like Ron, he really didn't like that people seemed to know more about his life than he did. With an odd smile she reach out and took his hand to shake it, still not quite looking him in the eye.

"Hello Harry, Potter I'm assuming, I mean you know, scar and all, guess that explains some things. I've read all about you of course, you're quite famous I reckon"

Harry groaned. Was it going to be like this for everyone? He wanted to think about that more but found his self quite distracted all of a sudden. They had never broken their grip when they got done shaking hands and both sat there now staring at their hands. Both could feel a warm sensation climbing up their arms. It felt like dipping your arm in warm water on a cold day, but neither said a word. It took but a few moments to climb all the way up to Harry's shoulder but there it hesitated before seemingly going straight for his heart. A split second before it got there though both quickly let go not noticing a thin blue mist seemingly dissipate between their hands as they moved away.

Harry shuddered a moment before answering, "Err yeah, that's me. But you know I don't really know much about what the books say, In fact I only found out I was a wizard at the end of July…"

"Oh, me too. Well I found out last September actually, just after my birthday. I thought, I mean, well I just assumed you'd been raised in the wizarding world I guess. Bet it is weird then isn't it? Having all these people know who you are." Hermione said seeming shocked. Harry gave a look over to Ron who just shrugged and got another sweet from his pile, seeming quite content to let them talk.

"Yeah, just a bit," said Harry with a sigh "I just can't seem to escape it though." He finished frowning

Hermione watched Harry surprised. She figured he would be a stuck up, fame hungry, immature kid. Yet, here he sat lamenting about his notoriety, he seemed so dejected that she had to wonder why? She had always been more mature than other kids her age, she knew this was because of her intellect and thirst for knowledge. After all, it was easier to learn if you approached knowledge from a mature standpoint. But Harry was different she noted, his maturity seemed to have little to do with a thirst for knowledge, to all appearances he seemed healthy enough, though a little peckish maybe.

She was pondering on this when the door opened once again and in stepped a young silver haired boy flanked by two others who could only be described as brutish. Harry looked up and immediately frowned seeing him enter. He had met this boy briefly before in Diagon Alley, and had instantly developed a dislike for him.

"You?" the silver haired boy said in surprise, "Is it true then, are you Harry Potter? Not much to look at are you?" he finished with a sneer.

Harry started to answer but Hermione stood up in a flurry, "Why can't you all just leave him alone!" she screamed, causing Ron to jump and choke on his candy. Harry jumped across and started pounding on his back as Hermione continued "He's just like any one of us you know, and frankly I think by now he's sick and tired of you all acting like he's so different. Get out of here and leave him alone!"

The silver haired boy looked her up and down in amusement. His friends stepped forward as if to defend him before he waved them back. "And who are you then?" he asked.

"Hermione Granger." She said in a matter of fact kind of way.

"Granger? Funny I don't know any wizards with that name. You must be muggle born then? Figures, muggle borns always seem to stick their noses where they don't belong, like on this train to begin with." Then he looked at Ron, "And you MUST be a Weasley, surprised your family could even afford to send you this year." Ron looked at him murderously, but before he could say anything the boy stepped past Hermione, knocking her back into her seat and stuck his hand out to Harry "Well then Potter, My name is Draco Malfoy, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle" he said gesturing to his friends still standing by the door in the hallway, "I think you should come with me before you start to smell like these people. You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, wouldn't want them taking advantage of your fame you know." He finished with a haughty smile.

Harry eyed his hand for a moment before standing without a word and shoving Draco back into the hall between his goons. "No thanks, Draco, I think I'll take my chances all the same." Without another word he slammed the door shut and hoped they didn't try to get back in. Harry had learned a long time ago about the best way to deal with bullies, and had no idea what possessed him to fight back. Usually he would just avoid confrontation, but after seeing Hermione get knocked down something inside of him had snapped. He wasn't used to things like this and started shaking a bit as the adrenaline slowly worked through his body. Outside he heard them mumbling before they finally shambled off back down the hallway. He let out the breath he didn't even realize he'd been holding.

He looked over to Hermione smiling, "Are you alright?"

'Yeah I'm fine, I should've expected something like that sooner or later really. I mean I've had almost a year to learn about the wizarding world, and even though none of the books I read in that time really came out and spoke about the difference in Pure Bloods and Muggle-Born there always seemed to be something off." She said staring at the floor.

"Not all pure bloods are like that Hermione" Ron started defensively, "I'm pureblood and I don't think you're any different from me. In fact my Dad thinks Muggles are amazing! He goes on and on about the way's you all have found to live without magic, quite ingenious he always says."

Harry sat down and reach out and took Hermione's hand. For the first time since coming into the compartment she looked him in the eye. Again he felt drawn deep into her brown eyes but found he could focus on her thoughts this time at least. The familiar warmth crept up his arm as he said "It's alright Hermione, I don't even know my heritage at all…"

Smiling she withdrew her hand before the feeling reach her chest again and started "You're half and half. Your Mom was muggle-born and your Dad was pure-blood. Read that in 'Famous Witches and Wizards of the 20th Century.'"

Harry nodded at this and sighed, seems everyone really did know more about him than he did. He made a mental note to fix that problem and soon, it wouldn't do for him to not know anything at all about his parents. All he really knew is that they were killed trying to protect him, he didn't even know why he needed protecting, but he swore to find out.

A/N: So what do you all think of my first chapter? Might notice Hermione is already rubbing off on Harry, instilling him with desire to know more about his self. How will that change his attitude towards Dumbledore and his habit of keeping knowledge secret? Draco is a git, so don't expect any redeemed Malfoy's in my story. But I don't plan on doing Weasley/Dumbledore bashing either.

Review please! This is going to be a long story, if it works out as I planned it, and I'll need all the support I can get!