The 'avoid Drucy' thing was still happening among the Hogwarts students.

She sat alone in the train compartment, watching the landscape slowly slide by, feeling quite lonely. Daniel and Roenna had stayed at Hogwarts for the holiday. Esme had taken off to visit with her friends almost right away. Drucy sighed and curled up close to the window, at the edge of the seat. Her greensnake slithered from her collar down her arm and made a pretty, bright green bracelet around her wrist. "Thanks, Jade," she whispered quietly.

"Hey, are you in here all alone?"

Drucy looked up to see the last person she ever thought would come to talk to her. Brian, the Slytherin Prefect, hovered in the doorway. "Yeah," she answered quietly. "I guess… nobody wanted to sit with me."

He stepped inside and sank into the seat opposite hers. "Well, I don't mind. The other kids have been avoiding you lately, haven't they? I noticed, but it was so close to the end of term that I didn't have much time to investigate. Got any idea why?"

Drucy wasn't too ready to forgive him, even after all he'd done for her after Matt Briar had tried to take her wand and gotten himself a nasty shock for it. "You're trying to avoid trouble for Slytherin, aren't you?"

Brian shook his head a little, smiling warmly. "Of course, but you're part of Slytherin, and my friend's sister. Drucy, I do care about what happens to you. I'd get in trouble for you, if you need me to."

She began to soften just a little, thinking about how helpful his steady presence had been in the Headmaster's Office. "Well… thanks, Brian. No, I really don't have any idea why they're doing it. Daniel said he'd ask around a bit during the holiday."

"He's a good friend of yours, isn't he? It's good for us to reach out to the Muggleborns and the Gryffindors," Brian noted, leaning back and getting comfortable in his seat. Drucy realized that she wasn't quite as bunched up as before. She definitely didn't think of Brian as a friend, but there was no denying that he was friendly, and that made the quiet train ride a little easier.

"Well, I didn't… I mean… I don't think that way," Drucy admitted. "I'm supposed to, and I keep forgetting. He's bright and friendly, and he was willing to talk to me. I guess you're a Pureblood, then? Like me, I guess?"

"No, I'm not." Brian chuckled at the look of doubt on her face. "No, honest. My dad is actually a Muggle, and my mom is a Squib. Was kind of a surprise when I turned out to have magic, and even more of a surprise when I got put in Slytherin. I'm not sure my mom is happy about it, but they're both pretty supportive. And relatively well-off, so that helps."

Drucy remained skeptical. "Do you have a last name? Nobody ever calls you anything but 'Brian' or 'Brian the Prefect'. Your last name isn't actually 'Prefect', is it?"

That drew another chuckle. "No, my last name is 'Tack'. Not much of a last name, is it? I just never bother to use it."

"Are you embarrassed about it?" Drucy asked, now growing curious. "My dad had us take my mom's last name. 'Bulstrode' isn't a terribly nice name at Hogwarts, but it's better than 'Lestrange'."

Brian shook his head. "No, I'm actually pretty proud of my dad's side of the family. Yeah, I know, proud of the Muggle side, isn't that some kind of crime in Slytherin?" She knew he was teasing, and she hesitantly smiled in return. "My great-grandpa fought in 'The War', you know," he continued. "Not the First Wizarding War. He fought in the Second Muggle World War. He helped liberate a group of Muggles who are treated kind of like Muggleborns are in Wizarding society. That's part of the reason why I don't hate or despise Muggleborns." He shrugged. "Besides almost being one, myself, of course."

"What got you into Slytherin?" Drucy felt this was a quite understandable question, if not a very polite one. Brian didn't seem to mind.

"Probably my charm," he offered with a wink. Drucy shifted in her chair, not amused. "Yeah, sorry," he responded. "But, honestly, that might well be it. The Hat said I had ambition and charm, and I could do great things. I think I would like to do great things. Hey, you asked me a hard question, now I get to ask you one. Okay?"

Was he going to ask her why she was in Slytherin? Drucy didn't want to answer that. "Well…" But he did have a fair point. Her question was pretty personal. "Okay, but I don't have to answer it if I don't want to."

"Fair game," Brian told her. "You don't like me. I know you don't. What's more, I can see that you want to like me sometimes, and then you refuse. I see it in your face, when your expression changes. Why don't you like me?"

Drucy didn't want to be rude, but she also didn't want to tell him about her experience with the Sorting Hat, and she was somewhat relieved that he'd asked a different question instead. "If I tell you, it'll be rude," she finally admitted. That put the burden on him again. She preferred that.

Brian accepted the burden. "Shoot. I mean, not literally, that wand is pretty strong. Go ahead and be rude. I think you'll feel better for it."

Well, that was true. "You took my sister away," she burst out. "She went off to Hogwarts, and then all she'd do is talk about you. And she stopped spending time with me, and started locking up her things, and I think she even lied to me earlier this year. I think you're changing her, and I don't think it's for the better." Drucy straightened up in her chair as she spoke, and directed her attention on him, waiting to see how he would react, wondering if she was going to have to flee or fight.

She expected either excuses or anger. Instead, he looked simply astonished, and remained quiet for a while. When he finally spoke, he sounded genuinely contrite. "Well, I'm sorry, Drucy. I didn't ever think about it from your point of view. I guess it does look like that, doesn't it? I'd be pretty upset, too, if I was in your situation." He took a breath, leaning forward in his chair, meeting her angry gaze. "Esme thinks the world of you. That hasn't changed. Some of her focuses changed, when she got into Hogwarts. That's normal. It's happening to you, too. You know it is, right? Can't you tell?"

Drucy found herself softening. "I guess you're right. I just… I was happy, with Mom and Dad and Esme, and then she changed, and then I started changing, and now Mom's pregnant, and things are going to change again."

"Congratulations!" Brian Tack brightened considerably. "That's wonderful news." He watched her face, and his own gaze softened. "It frightens you, though, doesn't it? You like the way things were before. Drucy, listen to me. Things are going to keep changing all your life. They're probably going to keep changing this year. There may be some big stuff coming. But every different time in your life will have its own joys, and you need to find them and think about them. Don't puzzle over what you've lost. You've got your friends waiting for you at Hogwarts, and we're nearly there." He rose from his seat. "In fact, since we're nearly there, I need to go up to the front. Hey, I'm glad I stopped and talked to you."

"What do you mean, there's big stuff coming?" That hadn't been lost on Drucy.

Brian grimaced slightly. "Can't talk about it yet. I'm sorry. You'll find out soon enough, in your own way, and… don't worry, ok? I'll look after you." With that, he stepped out of the compartment and walked away.

Drucy had a lot to think about. Brian hadn't ever thought about how she felt about her changing relationship with her sister. She, on the other hand, had never thought about him as a person with his own background and desires. She began to wonder if even the dreaded Matt Briar was a person with his own background and desires. She wasn't ready to go quite that far, though. He was evil and he hated her. She was sure of it.

As the carriages arrived, Drucy's spirits rose as she saw Daniel and Roenna on the front steps, waiting for her. She hurried up to them, and they shared a three-person hug. Daniel spoke first, full of enthusiasm. "That present was awesome, Drucy! Roenna's been helping me build it. She's really talented with carving and sanding. It's going to be a really awesome broom when it's done, better than anything I could've wanted."

Roenna smiled shyly. "Herbert is awesome, too. He's such a good listener. It might be because he's too dumb to do anything else, but I don't really care. He's the most perfect toad."

"I know you didn't get anything from us," Daniel added. "We did make you something, though. Roenna has it, she'll give it to you later. C'mon, it's freezing out there, and I'm hungry."

Esme had already saved a space for Drucy right next to her, and seemed eager to chat with her as they ate. To Drucy's surprise, her sister did not actually mention Brian once. She wondered if Brian had spoken to Esme on the train. "Drucy, check this out!" Esme told her in excitement. "Professor Bones is going to be away on vacation for a few more days, and we're going to have a very famous guest teacher. Harry Potter himself!"

"How is that exciting?" Drucy asked in dread. "He's a Gryffindor of Gryffindors, what's he going to make of us? Or do to us?"

Esme dismissed her worries. "He's the one who insisted on Severus Snape being counted as a Headmaster at Hogwarts. He even… well.. I wouldn't say he's friends with Slytherins. But he doesn't seem to hate us at all. Even the ones who hated him."

Drucy was still a bit nervous about this turn of events, but even her nervousness could not stand long in the face of what awaited her when she wandered to her 'home away from home', her bedroom in the dungeon. She unlocked her door and stepped inside to find the room cheery and warm, with the fire burning low, all her luggage neatly put away, and a small snack of her favorite cookies and warmed milk with a little cinnamon dusted on top waiting for her. Topsy was humming as she turned back the blankets and sheet on the bed. The little old house elf wore a curtain with a ruffle along the bottom edge. Drucy had given it to her when the paperwork had been approved. The curtain was pretty… and it was due to be replaced anyway, because of the scorch mark on its twin where the Butterfly Maker had set it alight.

The comforts were wonderful, of course, but Drucy was most cheered by her house elf's enthusiastic service. That and her friends' pleasure from her Christmas gifts soothed her soul as she climbed into bed. Whatever happened from here, at least she felt she had done something right.