"Steven!" Hermione called out.

It was a moment before she realized that he was with Harry Potter and Ron Weasely, and she stopped uncertainly.

"Hey!" he said.

"I heard you were having trouble in Professor McGonegall's class, and I wondered if you could use some help?"

She heard a rude snort from Ron and for a moment she considered turning around and walking away. Ron had been nothing but rude to her since they'd met on the train. He'd latched onto Harry from the moment they'd met and he seemed very territorial. It was almost as though he was afraid someone would replace him as Harry's best friend.

"That'd be great!" Steven said. "I've never been to school before, so it'll be really helpful to have somebody who's good at school to give me some pointers."

He smiled at her, and Hermione found herself relaxing. She felt a rush of pleasure at the compliment, even if it was true. Helping Steven was almost her civic duty.

Besides, it wasn't as though she had a lot of other things to do. The classwork was easy, and there was only so many times she could go over it before even she grew bored.

In her old school she'd just read ahead, but her parents had balked at buying her books that were more than one year ahead. They'd wanted her to make friends, take a little time to enjoy herself.

She didn't have any friends in this place; she didn't really know why. At least at home she could always go home to her parents. Here she had no one.

Steven though struck her as someone who could be a friend.

"The only test I ever had involved giant boulders, walls of fire and swinging blades," Steven said. He hesitated. "You don't think they'll have any of those here do you?"

His voice actually sounded hopeful.

"Only if Neville keeps doing the way he has been in potions," Ron said.

Hermione didn't allow herself to smile, even if she privately thought the joke was a little funny. Neville was a disaster, but it was rude of Ron to mention it.

"Where are you going now?" she asked.

"We're going to get a musical instrument for Steven," Harry said. "A...uke something."

"Ukulele?" Hermione asked.

With a glance at Steven, Harry nodded.

"I play the violin," Hermione said. "My parents had me take lessons."

"Like Connie!" Steven said. His face lit up for a second before dimming. "My friend...from back home."

More than a friend from his expression.

"I know where the music room is," Hermione said.

"Of course you do," Ron said, rolling his eyes.

"I'll show you the way," she said.

"Is that...Muggle music?" Ron asked.

Hermione glanced at Harry and they both shook their heads slightly. Neither of them had ever heard the tune.

At times, it was haunting, in a way that Hermione hadn't had much experience with. At other times it was raw and visceral.

They were in the great hall, and there was no one around, although Hermione kept glancing nervously around. If they'd all been in the same House it would have been a lot easier, but there weren't a lot of places where Steven could play for them without other people watching.

"Is that from your...from Beach City?" Harry asked, glancing at Hermione.

There were secrets in that look. It wasn't outright rejection, like she'd gotten from Ron, but it still stung.

Steven's eyes were closed; after a moment he looked up.

"No," he said. "I'm just jamming."

"You're improvising?" Hermione asked. She winced at the sound of her own voice. She was more grateful than ever that she hadn't let Steven talk her into taking a violin.

She could play well enough, if she had the music in front of her, but improvising was beyond anything she could envision for herself.

"How do you just come up with something like...that?" she asked. "Without practicing."

"I think it's a gem thing," Steven said. "They can all do it. My dad can do it some too, but he's better if he writes it out first."

"He's a professional musician," Harry said, glancing at Hermione.

"So there's music on both sides of my family," Steven said. There was a melancholy look on his face.

Steven always acted so happy; he had a smile for everyone.

Hermione had a vague sense that Steven had once been even happier. If his music was anything to judge by, he was at least as unhappy inside as she was.

She resisted the urge to hug him; boys were easily embarrassed. Still, she smiled widely.

At least one person at Hogwarts had always been nice to her; the least she could do was return the favor.

"You have to get the words AND the gestures right," Hermione said.

They'd been studying for weeks, and still Steven struggled. If he'd been an idiot like Ron, Hermione would have given up, but he was bright.

"I'm not even really a wizard," Steven said. He sighed. "What if this kind of magic isn't something I can actually do?"

"The Aurors at the Ministry seemed to think differently," Hermione said. "Dumbledore seems to think you can do it too."

It wasn't that he was even bad at all subjects. From all reports he did very well in potions, Herbology and Astronomy.

He simply struggled with writing and with the practical applications of magic.

"You do well in potions," she said. "So I know you can follow instructions."

"I can cook," Steven said, shrugging.

"And I've seen you juggling three plates of breakfast and an apple without dropping a single piece of food," Hermione said. "So I know you don't have any problems with your hand-eye coordination."

"Skills," Steven said, smirking.

Hermione hesitated. "You're over thinking things. You worry too much about not being able to do it, and then you can't do it."

"You worry about things," Steven pointed out.

"I worry about not doing enough," Hermione retorted. "Not about not being able to do them at all."

Steven was quiet for a long moment. "I always worried about not being magical enough. My powers took forever to show up, and then it took me forever to get control of them."

He'd opened up to Hermione about his past during their study sessions.

"If you spend all your energy worrying, it doesn't leave anything for actually doing things," Hermione said. "That's why people like Harry and Ron do so well."

Steven looked up.

"Ron's just worried about his next meal and Harry...he's a doer more than a thinker."

Steven was quiet. "Harry worries."

"He's got a lot to worry about," Hermione said. "The way Professor Snape treats him."

Steven looked uncomfortable.

For some reason, he seemed to believe that Professor Snape was a good person, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

"You're the smartest person in school," Steven said. "I don't know why you bother with me."

Now it was Hermione's turn to look uncomfortable. "You're my friend."

Her only friend, as it turned out.

Harry didn't hate her, but he didn't have much to do with her either, and Ron actively conspired to make her life more difficult.

The other students seemed offended by her for some reason she could never quite understand.

Steven looked at her for a moment, then sighed.

"I've told you about the gems, right?"

She nodded.

"Pearl is the smart one. She's a lot like you, really, she worries too much and she likes to talk about all the stuff she knows," Steven said. "It doesn't bother me, because I know I don't know anything anyway."

He hesitated. "Amethyst, though...she always felt like Pearl was showing off, trying to make her look stupid."

"She wasn't," he hurried to explain, "At least not most of the time. I think Amethyst felt stupid and she blamed Pearl for pointing that out."

Hermione frowned.

"And you're saying I'm like Pearl."

Steven nodded reluctantly.

"And who do I make feel stupid?"

Shrugging uncomfortably, Steven said "Everyone?"

Staring at him, Hermione was speechless.

"I'm just saying," he said uncomfortably. "Everybody likes to feel smart sometimes."

It was grammar school all over again.