Lafiel could hardly believe they were riding this antiquated vehicle to the castle, when they were just there a few hours before. It seemed an utter waste of time, even if it was an amusing way to see this world. The pollution it was making was another concern. There were many perfectly adequate proven designs in their books that would have generated the necessary steam, without the need for all this pollution. The power requirements of such a vehicle should be quite low, so why not at least fix that much? It was really quite puzzling.

Luna had even refused to do more work, and was instead playing this rather strange game of blocks with Harry, where the blocks would explode if they made the wrong move. What was worse, Luna accused her of sulking. Her sulking. It was quite impossible.

She looked to Hermione, but she was quite involved in a new book she had borrowed from the Library. She pulled out her tablet and checked on the work her ship's computer was doing. Antimatter production would be possible but very difficult to achieve, or at least very difficult to achieve and keep silent about. As much as she wanted to go home, giving this world access to the ability to create antimatter was absolutely prohibited. Even if she wanted to do it. If she did manage to get home, her own grandmother would order her execution for such a foolish act. It was their job to prevent and end wars, not to give people the tools to begin them.

She could also easily change time so this world destroyed itself and that change could wipe out her own people in some weird cascade of events. She would not be forgiven for such an act, and rightly so. She ordered all the new research on antimatter to be deleted. The original records would be kept under the original encryption. That was secure enough under her personal code. So far, the only plausible path was the runic array they had begun, which may not even work. What is worse, is she still had no idea hot to recreate the engines mounted on the capital ship that launched her into Linear Space, let along power them, to say nothing of plotting a course. It was most vexing. She did not even know the spatial offset to her part of the universe to go along with the temporal offset. Logic said she would probably never find a way back, but Abriels were not known for their ability to accept defeat, and she would not shame her clan so. There had to be a way.

They also needed to finish off the threat to Harry, though it looked like the goblins were taking the lead there. They would have to keep their eyes open for opportunities to eliminate that concern. Prejudice, she knew, would be a problem, but she was used to that. People often disliked those that were different. She refused to let it waste her time or her focus. One bit of good news was that Harry and Hermione had made some progress in thinking like an Abh. She thought this was partly due to the strange effect of what they did at Hermione's house, but wasn't sure, nor was she sure if their thoughts were protected. It was a vexing problem. One of them would have to learn legilimency, or they would have to gain the cooperation and trust from one who knew it.

The idea made her physical sick to ponder. A person's thoughts were their own, and she would not contemplate taking them without permission. The thing she did with Harry dual casting was not even that. It was more feelings and emotion. It was also by explicit permission.

Could they use this skill to extend their ability to dual cast? Knowing Harry's thoughts did have a certain amount of appeal, but it would be inappropriate to even ask for something so private, even if she would offer to share her own. That would be even more personal than asking for his genes for her children, that she was in no way shape or form ready to even contemplate having. She had not even graduated the academy yet for Abh sake. Where did these annoying thoughts come from?

She glanced at Harry, and was somehow instantly annoyed as the blocks exploded on him, though she was quite unsure about what she was annoyed about. It too was vexing.

Lafiel let out a long breath as she centered her thoughts, once again recalling her training and regaining her focus. She was surprised when a blond boy opened the door with two stockier boys behind him. From his expression, he was likely one of those. She debated whether or not to ignore courtesy. It was a high insult, but the look she saw from Luna and Hermione's eyes suggested waiting. She would wait, and if need be apologize for her rudeness.

"Scarhead, what idiocy have you done to yourself? I told you that hanging around blood traitors and mudbloods was a mistake."

Lafiel stood, followed quickly by the others. She smiled. It was not a very nice smile. She said crisply, "Who are you?" as if she was looking at a particularly repulsive bug.

Draco's eyes widened as he took in the regal body language and form of Lafiel. His stance firmed, somewhat, yet still seemed uncertain. "I'm Draco Malfoy, heir to the house of Malfoy." His hand started to move, but seemed unable to reach out.

Lafiel responded, courtesy ingrained in her, even if some of the native customs were new to her. "I am Viscountess Abriel Paryunu Lafiel. It is nice to meet you." She smiled and held out her right hand, and was not surprised when he failed to reciprocate. A win for her. She withdrew her hand and asked, "What do you want?" in a calm, disinterested tone.

Recovering, Draco turned t Harry and said, "Just to warn you scar head. Things are happening this year, and you better watch your back."

Lafiel smiled and responded with, "Then you had better watch your front."

Draco's gaze jumped back to her, measuring. "My father will hear about this.."

"You would dishonor your family so? Have you no shame?"

Draco was clearly surprised at her response. "Enough. We have wasted enough time here." He pulled back and shoved the door shut.

Harry was the first to speak. "That was awesome."

"That was quite crude of me. I shall have to endeavor to improve in the future."

Hermione asked, "Aren't you worried about starting trouble?"

"I do not start trouble. I finish it." She said this not with arrogance, but as if it was a self evident truth.

Luna removed one more block, and smiled when the whole assembly glowed. "I win."

Harry looked back and scowled. Hermione seemed amused and even Lafiel was slightly amused.

She said, "Then, as the victor, you shall play me."

"I shall," said Luna formally. Both Hermione and Harry cracked smiles that were quickly returned to neutral.