On Platform Nine and Three-Quarters he found a quiet corner in which to stand. Nobody seemed to notice him, as usual. Few people ever seemed to notice him if he didn't call attention to himself. Teachers almost never called on him. Cascata was one of the few who really saw him. Dumbledore did too. Even Susan and Hannah only noticed him because he was brought to their attention by Cascata. Now that they had been around him a fair amount though they seemed to see him a bit easier.
Tamblin glanced around to see if anybody seemed to be watching him. He knew he wouldn't find anyone paying him any attention, he usually could feel it when he was being watched. Sometimes he could even tell who it was by how it felt. With Dumbledore and Quirrell he'd felt a vague nausea. Mrs. Norris, the wretched caretaker's cat, sometimes would notice Tamblin and it felt more like the tickle before a sneeze. Lighter, but in some ways more annoying. With Cascata it seemed more like a warm flush that passed through him when she turned those big dark eyes toward him.
The station buzzed with noise. Tamblin shrank back into his quiet corner. He listened to the voices all superimposed on top of each other. He couldn't pick out individual threads of conversation, but he wasn't trying to. Instead he closed his eyes and tried to sense the noise as a whole; a mass of intention and attention generated by those on the platform. It was fleeting but sometimes he could feel it. It was like a cloud with lightning bolts flying back and forth. He felt the cloud expand to engulf him- someone was looking for him or noticing him. Sure enough a moment later he felt a bolt of attention strike him and he opened his eyes. Through the crowd he could see Susan looking right at him.
She started to smile but then stopped. Tamblin realized he was glaring. He let his features relax and forced a smile. It wasn't Susan's fault that she had noticed him when he had sought solitude.
Not surprisingly Hannah was following Susan's lead. She smiled as Susan broke them a path through the platform toward Tamblin. Susan meanwhile had a slightly concerned look on her face.
Tamblin decided to take the initiative as they got close.
"Susan, Hannah, you are both looking well. I hope your summers were pleasant."
"Hi, Tamblin," said Hannah with enthusiasm.
"Hey, Tamblin. I'm sorry I didn't write-" Susan started.
Tamblin waved a hand dismissively.
"Not a problem; my summer was far too busy as it was," he replied, honestly.
Susan still looked concerned.
"Are you sure?"
Despite how headstrong she was, Susan seemed genuinely concerned she had hurt his feelings. Hannah just looked slightly confused at the exchange.
"I'm sure. I'm sorry I didn't look pleased to see you at first. I was thinking about Cascata being stuck at school. It's a topic that has upset me of late."
This then was something the girls would accept. Their loyalty to Cascata, and each other, was fierce. And they had shown significant loyalty to Tamblin based on Cascata's approval. He'd found that it was a gift, one he had not expected and he felt ill prepared to appropriately recompense. He'd helped them a bit with their studies but that was all.
He realized that Hannah and Susan were already launching into a detailed description of their summer activities. He listened half-heartedly. While he did like both girls, he found they could talk endlessly about the most mundane topics.
He shivered slightly. Someone else was watching him. Slowly he turned his head. The sensation passed as he looked toward the source, but he could see Theodore Nott sitting upon a trunk and reading a book. Those deceptively innocent eyes flicked up as Tamblin watched. Nott inclined his head slightly toward Tamblin and went back to his page.