This takes place sometime in very early November 1992.
"Knock it off, Blaise. You're giving me a headache."
The other Slytherin met Harry's eyes- and grinned. "Knock what off?" he asked innocently, shifting once again into his Fae form. Brown eyes lightened to sky-blue, black hair brightened to sunny gold. His frame stretched and thickened. His features altered. Then, just as the new body had settled on him, he shifted back into his regular shape.
"That shifting thing!" the Parselmouth burst out. "You've done it about a hundred times in the past hour. It's getting old."
"Not for me," he replied, shifting once again. His voice changed in the middle of the sentence, deepening into a warm baritone.
"Harry has a point," Hermione commented. "Don't you think so, Neville?"
The Gryffindor jumped. Like Blaise, he was fascinated by the Fae magic that allowed them to change shapes. Unlike the Slytherin, though, he had limited himself to a few changes back and forth and was now resting in his regular form, watching the Smoking Mirror with an expression of interest. "Right," he agreed quickly.
Blaise rolled his eyes but stopped changing. "We need names," he declared.
"Sorry?" The abrupt change of topic took Hermione off guard.
"Names," her friend reiterated. "You know, those things we call each other and write on all our schoolwork? We need names for our Fae selves."
"He's right," Neville agreed. "I'll be… um… Alexander." His face saddened. "That's Dad's middle name."
"Do you have a surname in mind?" asked Hermione.
"Er… do you?"
"Maybe Green?" his friend suggested.
He shook his head. "That's too close to Greengrass."
"Good point," she admitted. "How about… no, that wouldn't work… are there any particular role models you have?"
Neville blushed. His eyes darted to Harry. "Not anyone I'm going to name myself after."
"Should it be a Muggle or wizard name?" the girl continued. "English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, or foreign? Or maybe you could name yourself after another Neville."
"Gran's maiden name is Chamberlain," he blurted, likely to make her stop talking. They all loved Hermione, but she could be a bit overwhelming at times.
"Excellent! Alexander Chamberlain it is, then," the Ravenclaw proclaimed. "One down, three to go."
"Four, if you count the Daughter of Frost," Blaise pointed out.
"Whoever she is," Harry groused. Though he had been the one to win their Fae forms from the Winter Queen, he didn't like thinking about them. The thought that he could now wear Voldemort's original form at will galled him. He knew, intellectually at least, that it was a good political move on her part, but that didn't mean he liked it.
Hermione's smile became rather fixed. "Let's make a name for Blaise next. Maybe… maybe something to do with how he's supposed to be a Seer?" She wasn't particularly fond of Divination, but it would be hypocritical to follow Saysa's prophecies without believing that the Smoking Mirror also possessed clairvoyant powers.
"Apollo," Neville joked. "God of prophecy and music, as we all know how much Blaise loves his choir class."
The Slytherin shoved him playfully. "Shut it, you. You all know I'm only in that thing because Endymion's making me."
"I like the name Apollo," Hermione announced. "Your Fae form even looks like a sun god."
The Seer preened. "Why, thank you, but that flattery will get you nowhere. Got any good surnames?"
She shook her head. "I can look up some of Apollo's titles in the old myths, but I don't know any offhand. Or maybe you could adopt a solar word like Gold or- I don't know, something else."
"Or I could grab a wizarding genealogy, open it to a random page, and pick out the first name I see. Provided it doesn't belong to anyone we know, that is."
Hermione seemed slightly perturbed by his unconventional methods but let it slide. She was Muggle-born, after all; if Blaise wanted a pureblood's surname, she couldn't really provide him with many. The Ravenclaw made a mental note to research wizarding families to rectify that gap in her knowledge. She could probably start around Christmas, after she'd memorized a sufficient percentage of the prophecies. "All right, then. What should we call Harry?"
"As long as it doesn't involve 'Tom,' 'Marvolo,' or 'Riddle,' I couldn't care less," the Slytherin growled. His fists clenched. Less than a week after receiving a boon from the Winter Queen herself, and he already regretted it.
"I think it should," Blaise disagreed.
Harry fixed him with a basilisk's glare.
"Think about it," the other Slytherin continued, ignoring his friend's hostility. "Imagine the look on his ugly face when he hears that a bloke with his old face using part of his old name is running around championing Muggle-borns, saving goblins, and whatever else it is you're planning to do."
The Parselmouth tilted his head, thinking. A tiny smile graced his lips. "I suppose that would be kind of funny," he acquiesced.
"Not to mention it would get back at the Winter Queen," Blaise added.
"And it would confuse Dumbledore," Hermione mused. Her lips tilted up. "I think you should consider it, Harry. I know you don't like having that face, but… I don't want to say 'make the best of it' because that sounds so trite, but you should at least try to take advantage of it."
The wizard shrugged, his eyes lost in thought. "What about you, Hermione?"
The girl considered. "My Fae form looks Indian, so I should probably take a surname from the subcontinent," she murmured. "I'll have to look one up. Not Patil, though."
"Your first name should be Athena," Neville proposed. "Or maybe Rowena. You're certainly smart enough."
The Ravenclaw, a long-time admirer of her House's Founder and the Greek goddess of wisdom, blushed. "Thank you, Neville, but I don't think so. Those names… they're a bit pretentious, don't you think?"
"Not for you," Blaise answered honestly.
Hermione's blush deepened. She mumbled something about arrogance and averted her gaze.
"What about Pallas, then?" Neville wasn't willing to give up on his idea just yet. "It's one of Athena's titles, but people won't make the connection right away. Or is that pretentious too?"
She thought it over. Pallas… it was a nice name, easy on the tongue, and not as boastful as Rowena or Athena or even Minerva (though she wouldn't have taken that name anyways; she would never be able to answer to her Transfiguration teacher's appellation).
"Yes. I like the name Pallas. But I'm not taking Athena as my middle name!"
Blaise nodded with satisfaction. "So now it's back to Harry. What do you think?"
The boy smiled. "Pollux, one of the Gemini. Also a common name among the Blacks. That ought to give Dumbledore a few false trails to follow. Ophion the serpent. And Riddle, just because I know how it will make Voldemort react."
The other Slytherin's grin was devilish. "Pollux Ophion Riddle. I like it."
Harry smiled. "I do too."