A low thud sounded as their boat knocked softly against the dock. More sounds could be heard nearby as the other boats came to land. Cyril stumbled out, still wrapped up in Hagrid's coat. The Hufflepuffs merely stepped out without looking at him, once again muttering between themselves.
"I don't like him."
"Oh, Eva! Don't be so mean!"
"Shut up, Mickey!"
"Eva! You said a bad word!"
Eva looked defiant.
"You shouldn't be throwing around words like that, Eva!"
"Oh, Ben! Don't get into this!"
Cyril overheard their conversation and scoffed at their ideas of a 'bad word'. He had heard much worse from his sisters.
The three turned on him, managing to have angry looks on their faces. "What?!"
"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking of how awful a Slytherin you guys would make." Cyril grinned slyly. It was one of his first hints to being very Slytherin-like.
"We wouldn't want to be in Slytherin anyway!" The one called Ben pushed his nose in the air.
"Oh, please. You're too dumb for Ravenclaw, too cowardly for Gryffindor. You just wouldn't hold yourselves in Slytherin..." Cyril's sly grin turned a little wicked.
Some boy walked by them at that moment, and having heard their conversation, remarked snidely, "I'd rather be in Hufflepuff than in Slytherin."
Alec strode up to the small group and glared, quite fiercely, at the boy, "You must want to be in Gryffindor, then. Those dumb folk who just throw themselves into the fray of battle, just to be killed." Cyril nodded in agreement.
The boy looked stunned a moment, before stalking off. Alec and Cyril watched as the other three followed up to the castle.
"You're devious, you know that?" Alec asked Cyril, amazement on his face now.
"Hm?" Cyril replied, almost too innocently, before slipping off Hagrid's coat and dragging it a little further to give it back.
"Aw, thanks, Cyril. Ya took good care of ih, I see," Hargid smiled down at the young boy.
"Yup! It was quite warm!" Cyril seemed to have reverted back to his usual self, though Hagrid couldn't know about that.
"Yer welcome!" Hagrid reached down to ruffle Cyril's light blond hair. Then the two moved off towards the castle's front doors.