Hermione opened the door to the first empty compartment she found. After they had figured out how to get to the station, Justin had abandoned her, which wasn't much of a surprise, and she didn't quite want to sit with someone, so she made it on the train as quickly as possible to get a seat. She dragged her bags in and stared at them. One was filled with her clothes, hairbrush, jacket and school books. The other was filled with books for extra reading. The second was far bigger and heavier.

Hermione tried to figure out how to lift the heavy bags onto the rack above her when an idea struck her. She had found this spell in a book she was reading, and if she could perform it...

Hermione withdrew her wand out of the front pocket of the bag and took it out of the box, gripping it firmly, but also gently. She waved it, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa."

As if by magic, or well, it was by magic, both bags lifted up and followed the direction of her arm. It bore no weight to her and was fairly easy to place on the racks. As soon as they fell on the racks, the slight tension between her and her suitcases stopped, as if her wand knew exactly when to stop the spell.

Hermione stared at the magical instrument in her hand, trembling slightly at knowing that she just performed her first spell, and that too, flawlessly. She took a deep breath and forced herself to sit down, placing her wand carefully in its box next to her.

She then took out her journal from her jean pocket. It was a tiny, portable one, which really made it easy for her to carry around. She opened it to the next blank page and used the attached pencil to sketch out some figures. Since childhood, from watching celebrities on the television to reading books with princesses that would get all decked up in beautiful outfits, Hermione had a talent and want for designing. No one knew about it. After all, who would believe that she, the star student and topper, would go into a field like fashion designing? It simply didn't make sense.

Hermione was in the middle of shading in the bodice of the dress when the door to her compartment swung open. She looked up to meet the eyes of Draco Malfoy.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked him, crossly. Behind him were two boys, both seemingly nicer than their 'leader'.

"Ah," his cool gray eyes looked down to meet her warm brown ones. "I don't believe I caught your name earlier."

"Maybe because you were being a bit too arrogant and whiny over a book," she told him. "Mr. Malfoy."

Draco glared at her, not believing how the girl in front of him was talking to him. "I just asked for your name. No need to be so rude about it."

"I'm sure you'll find out soon enough," she said crossly. "Now can you kindly leave me?"

Draco smirked at her and sat down in front of her after lifting his bags to the rack above. Two heavy looking suitcases were already sitting there and he wondered how such a tiny looking girl managed to lift them. Theo took the spot next to him while Blaise sat next to a miffed Hermione (She only knew their names because they were clearly imprinted on their suitcases). They watched the two amusingly as if they were only here for the show.

"I thought I told you to leave." She gritted out.

"Oh yeah," Draco pretended to have a realization. "But wait, I don't care."

He smirked at her and she clenched her jaw. He was sure she would retort but instead she just rolled her eyes and leaned back, her gaze fixed on whatever was in her notebook.

"I'm too tired to deal with all of you. As long as no one interrupts me, it's good. And if you do, well, you don't want to find out." The surprising fire in her brown eyes was enough to tell Draco that she wasn't lying. But that didn't stop him.

"So, Ella Enchanted huh?" He twirled his wand between his fingers. "Good choice of book. I just wanted it to add to my collection since I have 4 other copies. I made it my goal to have 5 copies of every book I own, just for the sake of it."

Hermione pretended to not care, but her heart leaped a bit. Did that mean he had a library? Judging by his pristine clothes and haughty smirk, he was certainly rich enough to.

She flipped a page just as the door opened again to reveal a very flustered looking boy their age. "Has anyone seen a toad nearby? I lost mine and can't find it anywhere."

Hermione stood up. "Not here but I'll help you look." At least I'll get out of here. She made sure to tuck her journal in her pocket before leaving the compartment, careful not to meet anyone's eye. They went through the compartments one by one but failed to find any toad. Hermione learnt that his name was Neville Longbottom.

"Longbottom, huh?" She asked him as they nearly fell from the train's movements. "I've heard that name before. I think your parents were great wizards and witches right? Before...". She cut off when she saw the heartbroken look on Neville's face. "So," she changed the subject. "What's your toad's name?"

"Trevor," he told her, grateful for the change in subject, also noting that although Hermione looked hostile, she seemed friendly and empathetic enough to not mention his parents. "My granny gave him to me." Hermione smiled at him.

"That's a nice name," she told him. "You know-"

"So we're looking for a toad?" a voice snorted behind her. "Quite sad isn't it."

Hermione turned to find herself face to face with the one and only, Draco I-Am-An-Arrogant-Smirking-Jerk Malfoy.