We never really know what happens outside Harry Potter's little bubble through the stories. Here is a quick attempt at what it might be like elsewhere in the castle.

"Look, there he goes again." Astoria looked over to where Calliope was gesturing. Draco Malfoy the ferrety runt was making yet more bold claims about the might of the Dark Lord, that or his family possible it was actually a rant about Potter again. Really she didn't care.

"He's such a prat." She replied turning back to her star chart.

"He's the heir of the Malfoy's he's rich, powerful and handsome." Calliope replied.

"He's a prat. His face is kinda pointy and his hair is stupid. I have no idea how powerful or rich he is but Potter keeps making him look silly."

"That because the stupid blood traitor is the headmaster's favourite and never gets in any trouble I mean do you really believe he killed a basilisk the year before we came?" she asked Astoria.

"Honestly I don't know, one of the Ravenclaw's told me there is a sword in the headmaster's office that Potter used and he always seems to get himself into weird situations."

Astoria looked back across the common room to where Malfoy was ranting and raving to his sycophants, if she had to guess she would put the 'my father' count at about fifteen by now. She shook her head and tried to complete her star chart again but was once again interrupted.

"It's not like Potter is really anything special. I've heard he's not even good in class and Professor Snape always has to take points because he's so badly behaved." Calliope continued.

Astoria doubted Snape really needed an excuse to take points from Potter or any other Gryffindor really but she wasn't exactly going to call out their head of house, Slytherins couldn't really afford to bicker, not when the rest of the school already hated them and so she just nodded and allowed the girl to continue while she tried to get the correct order of Jupiter's moons.

"I don't understand either why Potter hangs around with the mudblood and the blood traitor either. He is at least the boy-who-lived, you'd have thought that alone would be enough to meet the right sort of people. Granger is the worst, a mudblood and proud, she deliberately goes against tradition, she's also such a hypocrite. Have you heard how many points she's taken for rule breaking and yet she goes with Potter on his 'adventures' and doesn't lose points, that's insulting that she was allowed to become prefect."

Astoria wanted to explain that they were Potter's friends but that would just draw a blank for Calliope. Slytherins didn't have friends, they have acquaintances and contacts. People who it was beneficial to know regardless of what you thought of them as people. There were times that she wondered if she should have listened to the hat and gone to Hufflepuff after all but no matter. Maybe if she could finish Sinistra's homework soon she could read a book in bed all snug and warm she thought as she realised Calliope was speaking again.

"If I was Malfoy I would call Potter out in public, prove that he is nothing but a fake and protected by the headmaster. I mean there was no way Potter didn't cheat his way into the tournament last year, honestly I'm so pleased Professor Umbridge is here this year. I hear she doesn't let him get away with his normal stupidity."

"Uh huh." Astoria replied absently as she considered if Uranus was visible in the nights of February.

"I mean," continued Calliope, "I heard Potter has an invisibility cloak, that should definitely not be allowed. Think of all the things he could be doing and you'd never know."

Astoria was grateful that Potter was a Gryffindor at that point. At least he was meant to be noble, she shuddered to think what the boys from her house would do with one of those cloaks. Just to be sure she was going to learn a few better locking spells.

"Potter probably isn't that bad, Daphne said he's really quiet for the most part. Shy even." Calliope looked at her as if she was mad.

"Draco has always said he'd an attention seeker, I didn't think they could be shy. And being made seeker in first year, having Dumbledore bend the rules like that is definitely going to get some attention. I think that Potter is a prat but is too dumb to have any answers in class which is where Daphne sees him."

Astoria wasn't sure this was the case, her sister always seemed more believable than Draco but she knew better than to say it. Half the kids in the room had parents who owed the Malfoy family something and others thought they were everything Slytherins aspired to be. Speaking out against Draco was dumb, especially over something so petty. So Astoria looked out across the room seeing the prat. She'd never worked out in Draco's world view if he was the next coming of Merlin or his father was. She pitied the poor soul who would one day marry him.