A.N.: I removed the section about Harry's homelife in the previous chapter because it was out of place and I didn't really know how to handle it.

"Morning, Harry," Hermione waved from the Gryffindor table.

"Morning Sally," Harry sat down beside her, a little bit stiffly. He looked a little nervous, Hermione noticed. It didn't take legilimency to see that he'd read the books.

Hermione smiled warmly, causing Harry to relax a little. "Pumpkin juice? Spiders not included, of course."

Several students near them sniggered, remembering what happened at yesterday's dinner. The situation with Quirrell really was a pain. Hermione had not studied alchemy extensively in her previous life, but she knew a thing or two. If the object guarded by the three-headed dog was what she believed it was, a philosopher's stone, then it was very likely that Voldemort was attempting to use its healing properties to restore himself to full power. This meant that Quirrell would go to much greater length to obtain it. It also meant that the consequences of allowing him to succeed would be much more undesirable.

It still wasn't a reason to reveal her power before she was ready. Nevertheless, Hermione really hoped that Professor Dumbledore knew what he was doing. From what her portrait self had told her, he should've been sensible enough to place some real protection around the stone, in addition to the phony ones meant to be broken.

But for additional security, she would continue to keep an eye on Dumbledore.

She'd also have to keep Harry and Ron away from Quirrell and the stone. Should they succeed in removing it from its hiding place, then the stone would be momentarily protected by nothing but two eleven-year-olds. Up to now, she'd tried not to give the potion master trouble, knowing that he had a lot on his plate already, but she would direct their attention to Snape if she needed to. Besides, considering the way he'd been acting toward his students, he couldn't complain that he didn't deserve their hostility.

She had been planning to go home for Yule, which had been combined with Christmas some centuries ago, but now she realized that it might be a better idea to stay at school. She'd written to her parents last night, saying that she needed to catch up on her schoolwork over the Christmas break. They would understand. They did take her education very seriously.

From what she'd heard, Hogwarts would become mostly empty in two weeks. Harry and the Weasley brothers were the only ones who would be staying for the feast. Blaise was going to attend the annual Yule dinner at Malfoy Manor, along with a large part of Slytherin House. Hermione could appreciate its importance, knowing that the true purpose of such parties was for the host family to affirm allegiance and perhaps exert their influence on their network if necessary. Young Salazar had attended numerous of these gatherings throughout the year, ever since father could trust him not to say the wrong things. It was helpful to act humble and respectful, Salazar had found, especially when his family was host. Power and family status would speak for itself. Meanwhile, humility calmed people's egos and had allowed him to extract certain favours that would've otherwise not been possible, such as a promise of mentorship from the Peverell brothers.

"...Oh it'll be the grandest thing you've ever seen, Nott. The banquet table will be four times longer than the one at your house last summer. Everyone will be talking about it for the whole of January. And Avery, wear a different dress gown this time. Surely your family can afford more than just that one?" At the moment, Draco Malfoy was boasting about his father's party, and loudly so that his voice carried to the tables of the other houses. Hermione didn't missed the slight dip of Gaius Avery's head, or the way Theodore Nott stabbed at his toast a little more harshly than necessary. Malfoy would learn, in time, or it would cost him.

On the other side of the hall, Blaise flinched slightly at Malfoy's words, but thankfully recovered before anyone spotted it.

Theodore had his full sympathy. True, the Malfoys were indisputably the most influential and wealthiest family today, but the Notts were an ancient and politically significant family as well. They had their pride. Malfoy's assertion that his family's parties would be much better than Theodore's could be considered a direct insult to strength of the Nott family's network.

And he was sure that most first year students, excepting the Slytherins of course, didn't even have a dress gown. The Averys were simply being sensible.

But Malfoy's arrogance was detriment to no one but himself. Blaise, like a good Slytherin, saw an opportunity. Thus, after breakfast, he'd made sure to corner Daphne and Theodore before they could make their way to Pansy Parkinson and the library, respectively. "So, you know how you've been pestering me about the supposed secrets to my potion grades?"

Lesson number three in Slytherin: Rules are only guidelines, but if you intend to continue doing something truly shocking, make sure to implicate as many people as possible before you inevitably get caught. They would likely become your primary supporters.

"Yeah Blaise, what is it?" Daphne asked, "I mean, we hand in the same potion, but your final mark is a level higher than mine."

"What books have you been reading that I haven't found yet?" asked Theodore curiously.

"Not a book, Theodore, I have a tutor, sort of. But she's almost like a walking encyclopaedia... rather like you, actually."

Sal had told him that she'd love to make some new friends. After considering which of his housemates were "safe", so to say, Blaise settled on two.

Daphne, because Blaise knew her well from Potions. Blaise also knew that she was still close with Parvati Patil in Gryffindor, Padma Patil in Ravenclaw, and Hannah Abbott in Hufflepuff.

Theodore, because he buried himself in books as much as Sal did. They would get along swimmingly. Besides, at least Blaise could now be reasonably sure that he wouldn't tell Malfoy about this.

Moreover, introducing them to Sal would also bring Daphne and Theodore closer to himself, strengthening his own group of allies. Again, the Notts and the Greengrass were not Malfoys, but neither were they to be taken lightly. Blaise got a sense of satisfaction from this thought. Malfoy and Parkinson had their connections handed to them by their parents, but Blaise would win his allies by his own strength and intelligence.

'If this all works out, that is.'

"A tutor! Who is she?"

"Remember the girl in the first row from Potions? I call her Sal, but you might know her better as Granger."

Daphne's eyes went wide. "You're friends?"

"Zabini, you were there in the common room," frowned Theodore, "when Malfoy was complaining loudly about - excuse my language - 'the mudblood Granger', right?"

Hmm, this didn't sound good.

"I was," Blaise replied, "and so were you, but you still found her quite intelligent, no? Weren't you following her in the library, trying to see which books she was learning from?" Sal had noticed this the other day, and had asked him whether the boy in the row of bookshelves adjacent to theirs was Theodore Nott. He was.

Theodore looked thoughtful. "Personally I don't really see the point of the whole muggleborn business, not when Granger acts more refined than some of the purebloods," He admitted. Here he cast fleeting glances at Ron Weasley, then Malfoy. "If she's got brains, then she's worth talking to I suppose."

Watching his housemate closely, Blaise realized that Theodore had came to this conclusion long ago. So that remark about Malfoy... was it to gauge his own likelihood of having a change of heart?

"Ooh, Parvati did say that Sally Granger is really meant for Ravenclaw," Daphne remarked, "She must be one of the best students in our year. The other being you, Theodore, of course."

Blaise had to agree. Ravenclaw did sound like a much more suitable place for someone who loved books as much as she did. And whatever Sal was, he was sure that she was not a Gryffindor.

"I'm guessing you didn't bring this up without a reason, Blaise," Theodore noted, "are we going to get an introduction?"

"Yes,"

Theodore glanced at Malfoy again. The blond was strutting down the corridor as if he owned the place, with Crabbe and Goyle trailing behind him. He picked up his book bag.

"Tell me when, won't you?"

"Of course, Theodore."

After both Theodore and Daphne had left, Blaise breathed a sigh of relief and strolled out of the Great Hall. This could've easily blew up in his face disastrously, like poorly cooked potion, but he'd succeeded. And it was actually worth something, too. Not some childish victory like leg-locking weaker students, or causing Gryffindor to lose a couple of points.

The seal of Hogwarts was embossed in the wall outside, surrounded by words in Latin. Blaise looked up at the coiled snake in the upper right quadrant.

'You'd be proud of me, wouldn't you?'

A.N.: There's still quite a bit of cleverness in Salazar's house after all :D

The Slytherins sometimes address each other by last name to honour their family lineage. Malfoy is always getting called by his family name because he's so proud of it.