"It's kind of funny to see Draco and Hagrid together, isn't it? Do you remember last year, how much Draco hated visiting Hagrid for tea?" Harry reminisced.

It was a crisp October day and the trio were near Hagrid's hut - in fact, Callidus and Harry were leaning against the fence that marked the edge of the dragon, Norberta's, enclosure. As for Draco, he and Hagrid were in the enclosure, excitedly chattering and tossing scraps of food towards the agile dragon.

"How could I forget," Callidus smirked. "He'd spend the whole walk to the hut dragging his feet and whinging, and then get slobbered on by Fang."

Harry grinned. "Fang still slobbers all over him."

They fell silent for a moment, watching as Draco praised Norberta for a 'good catch' as she flew up in the air to snatch up a piece of brandy soaked meat. Norberta let out of huff of smoke, as though expressing her pleasure over Draco's compliments. Callidus wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. Norberta seemed to love Hagrid the best, but Draco was a close second. The dragon didn't allow most other people to come anywhere near her.

"It'd be nice if Draco was always this laid back," Harry sighed. "I think our ARMED meetings are getting to his head and he thinks he's better at magic than he actually is."

"You're only noticing now how annoying he can be? You two bicker all the time," Callidus remarked.

Harry laughed. "We don't really bicker. I mean, I know he can be stuck up, and all that pureblood stuff really gets to his head. But I usually like Draco. He makes life at Hogwarts a lot more fun."

Callidus raised his eyebrows. "Because he's willing to go along with pretty much any prank you suggest?"

Harry grinned. "That's what being fun means, isn't it? So how is progress going on the potions anyway?"

Callidus and Harry rarely spoke of Callidus's progress when Draco was around. Callidus had opted to attempt Harry's idea of the friendly-bomb - something that Draco scorned as being 'weak.' But the last thing Callidus wanted was to be expelled for creating something that did serious harm to people - and besides, a friendly-bomb was a fun project.

"Well, I've tested the vapourization spell on numerous potions at this point," Callidus informed him. "Dosing is still an issue, and I have to make sure I cast a protective charm every time I test a potion."

Harry laughed, his green eyes sparkling with humour. "Yes, I remember that day you inhaled Calming Draught, and Draco kept saying things to get a reaction out of you, but you just gave him the dopiest looking smile."

"I wasn't that bad," Callidus defended. "I just felt really - calm. It seemed pointless to argue with Draco."

Harry grinned. "He got to the point where he said you were turning into a girl because you spend all your times with girls, and you just gave him this sleepy smile and said 'yeah.' Draco was speechless for about a full minute."

"Thank you for reminding me yet again of that humiliating moment," Callidus drawled. "I'm sure I would have forgotten if not for your bi-weekly reminders of the hilarity that ensued." Callidus shook his head as Harry chortled with amusement. "Anyhow, you should have seen that rat I dosed with the friendliness potion that I'm trying to formulate. It spent the whole time lying down and petting it's own face. I can't quite tell if it was a success or not."

Harry hummed. "Sounds pretty successful to me." He grinned. "Could you imagine if people who were about to get into a fight just started to roll around on the ground, petting their own faces?"

Callidus smirked. "That's one way to stop a fight. I do think the friendliness potion needs work - the potion I'm currently tweaking lasts for almost almost two days, which is a bit excessive. The other issue is figuring the how to contain the potion and ensure that it vapourizes upon release. I think that will be one of the more challenging aspects because of the potential interference of magic and the potion itself."

"How long do you figure it will -" Harry cut himself off and his eyes widened as he watched Draco and Norberta. "Draco! You almost got your hair singed off! Are you okay?"

"I'm alright!" Draco called back. "Norberta just got a bit over-excited!"

"She jus' wants ter have a bit of fun, tha's all," Hagrid added, as he attempted to grab a hold of Norberta's snout. "Norberta loves Draco, don' yeh, yeh big sweet lump!" Hagrid proceeded to pet Norberta affectionately, ignoring the fact that his beard had been half singed away.

Harry shook his head. "I don't know how Draco can be so blind to how dangerous Norberta is. I mean, I love her too - she's amazing - but that doesn't change the fact that she's a huge, fire-breathing magical lizard."

"You wouldn't know it the way Draco talks about her," Callidus said wryly.

"I know. He talks about her like she's a huge furless kitten. Though from the way he describes how silky her scales are, she might as well have fur."

"So - like an ordinary kitten," Callidus remarked with amusement.

"Erm - something like that. The point is that he's completely biased when it comes to Norberta."

Callidus looked over at Draco, who appeared as cheerful as ever, despite the fact that he was nearly roasted. "I wonder how effective a friendliness potion would be on something like a dragon."

Harry hummed. "I wonder how effective it would be on someone who has the Orange Madness. That's where it would really be needed."

Callidus shook his head. "I can't believe the newspapers are calling the disease the 'Orange Madness.' It sounds like - a promotional strategy for selling off out of season Chudley Cannon's paraphernalia."

Harry snickered. "Yeah - for a serious disease, it does sound pretty stupid. But I guess it makes sense because of the orange rash, and the fact that people go crazy and act all violent when they have it. It too bad that they're nowhere near finding a cure and have to put people in a magical stasis. How long can a person stay alive in a magical stasis anyway?"

"Quite a while," Callidus answered. "In theory, you could live your entire life in a magical stasis. You'd still die a natural death."

"Huh." Harry fell silent and the pair of them watched Draco play with Norberta for a while. "So -" Harry broke the silence, "should we head out and practice our ARMED spells tonight?"

Callidus looked towards the Forbidden Forest thoughtfully. In the past couple of weeks, the trio had been spending more of their free time trying to find Harry's supposed 'secret chamber,' but since they had had no luck, they had been sneaking out at night using the Camouflage Potion and practicing borderline Dark spells in the forest. However, it was risky, and as they moved further into autumn, it was getting much colder.

In truth, since Draco was a pure-blood, he could have made use of the secret dueling room attached to the Slytherin common room. But Draco had somehow rationalized the idea of sneaking out into the forest as somehow being an act of rebellion against Dumbledore's 'tyranny of Light Magic.' As a result, Draco always joined them.

So far, no danger had ever befallen the trio. Callidus wasn't sure if it was because they never went too far into the forest, or if it was because the dangers of the forest were overstated. Of course, he knew there were legitimate dangers in the forest - he had read all about centaurs and various other magical beasts. But while the trio had been practicing spells in the forest, there had barely been a rustle.

Of course, there were other issues - there was the problem of Draco's over-large ego, and the fact that he saw himself as the rightful supervisor of Callidus and Harry, talking down at them as though he were superior in ability and talent. But because of Callidus's and Harry's dedication, and the desire to prove to Rowle that she was a fool for looking down on them, Draco's help wasn't actually needed. It was just annoying, and no amount of mocking Draco seemed to stop him from his self-satisfied 'teaching.'

"It would probably be a good idea," Callidus answered. "It looks like it'll be a clear night tonight, and we really need the practice if we don't want to fall behind."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "But it'll be so much better once we find that secret chamber I've been dreaming about. And once we do, I'm not going to let stupid Rowle use it."

Callidus looked over at Harry. "I don't know how you can be so sure of this supposed secret chamber - especially if it's based off a dream. I mean, of course I believe Hogwarts still has a great deal of undiscovered secrets, but how do you know that we'll be able to get away with practicing all spectrums of magic there?"

Harry's expression was certain. "I just know."

That evening, the twins took their doses of Camouflage and Foot-silencing Potions and sneaked out of the castle. Many of the Slytherins were aware that the trio (as well as various other Slytherins) ventured out at night. None of them ever tattled because of the sense of unity and solidarity between Slytherins. However, they still had to be careful because the information could have been used as blackmail.

The greatest danger within Hogwarts was usually Filch and Mrs. Norris or Peeves. But Slytherins tended to have their own dungeon shortcuts and they made it out of the castle without incident.

"Brr! It's cold!" Harry commented.

Draco looked over at him. "It's not that bad."

"That's because your parents would only ever purchase the best for their precious heir and all your winter clothes have built in warming charms," Callidus pointed out.

"Then that's your problem," Draco answered. "You two could have chosen bought your own clothes with warming charms. It's the most sensible thing to do."

Callidus shook his head. Since when did Draco care about being sensible? Before long, they had reached the edge of the forest. They only went far enough in so that their spells would not be spotted from the castle. They might not have encountered any serious dangers so far, but why would they take the chance?

"So today we'll be practicing the variation of cold fire. This spell is similar to bluebell flames, except that bluebell flames burn warm, while this spell burns icy cold - cold enough to kill living things if you're dumb enough not to put it out," Draco explained.

Harry huffed in aggravation. "We know Draco. We were there at the ARMED meeting. We're not deaf, you know."

Draco crossed his arms. "If you know so much, then let's see you perform the spell."

Harry scowled. Pointing his wand at a spot on the ground, he uttered the incantation. There was a weak beam of light, and a tiny spark of pale blue, but it quickly vanished.

"It looks to me like you'd benefit from instruction," Draco observed smugly.

"If you're so great, let's see you perform the spell," Harry countered.

Draco's expression was less certain now. But then, a look of stubborn determination crossed his face, and he attempted the same spell. However, his effort was no better than Harry's.

"Ha!" Harry barked. "See? You're hardly in any position to teach us. Merlin, it's just so annoying."

"Annoying?" Draco repeated, his cheeks flushing with ire. "I try to help my own friends, and this is the thanks I get?"

"We didn't ask for your help!" Harry cried. "We're perfectly capable of doing magic by ourselves. Ever since our first ARMED meeting, you've just been getting more aggravating! You think you're so much better than us."

"Enough!" Callidus cut in. He couldn't think of a stupider place to get into a fight than the Forbidden Forest. "I'm sick this. Either duel it out like wizards or cease your mutual displays of verbal asininity and just practice the bloody cold flame spell."

Both Harry and Draco glared at him, but in the end, they grudgingly performed the spell. Harry and Draco seemed determined not to speak to one another for the rest of the night, but although their conflict was annoying, Callidus was mostly relieved. It was better for them to work out their issues anywhere other than the Forbidden Forest. It was relatively rare for Harry and Draco to get into a serious quarrel. But Callidus was sure that they'd work it out on their own later; hopefully somewhere far away from him.

By the time the trio returned to the castle, all of them were silent. Callidus might have felt closer to Harry and Draco than he did to Hermione, Caiside and Ginny, but moments like these made him glad that he another group of friends he could escape to. But if Callidus was hoping that Harry and Draco's disagreement would be forgotten by the following day, he was proved wrong. Callidus couldn't help but sigh. He should have known that with Draco's ego, the blond wouldn't be so forgiving.

Callidus ended up escaping to his Potions lab more often, letting Parkinson and Zabini take over the awkward job of making conversation in the Slytherin dungeons. He was relieved when, a couple of days later, Harry and Draco had Quidditch practice, he could escape to see his Gryffindor friends who were hopefully acting a little more reasonably.

He was on his way to the library when, to his surprise, he met up with Caiside along one of the corridors.

He paused in his step and nodded at her as soon as she spotted him. "Hello Caiside. I would have thought you'd already be in the library."

Caiside scowled. "I just had detention with McGonagall. For the entire week, in fact."

Callidus raised his eyebrows. "Oh? Detention? What did you do?"

Caiside crossed her arms, her dark eyes flashing angrily and her curls almost quivering in her state of aggravation. "They deserved it! Ugh! It's so unfair!"

"They?"

"The stupid Weasley twins!" Caiside burst out. "They tease Ginny all the time, and since both of them have the emotional sensitivity of a pair of rusted thumbtacks, they fail to see how much it upsets her. So, I decided that they should get a taste of their own medicine."

"What did you do?" Callidus asked, unable to suppress his curiosity.

"I just left a clipping of the Virginia tickler plant in their beds."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Callidus pointed out.

"I may have added some Accelerated Growing Potion to the clipping -"

Callidus's eyebrows lifted upwards.

"And the plant may have grown out of control and taken over their rooms and trapped the twins while they were sleeping so that by the time they awoke, they were completely tangled," Caiside continued.

"Merlin -" Callidus muttered.

"Lee Jordan had to cut them free the next morning. The twins might have been close to turning purple from laughing so hard -"

Callidus shook his head. "You're ruthless Caiside. You've given me yet another reason why I should never get on your bad side."

Caiside smirked. "You'd do well to remember it. I guess we better get to the library before Ginny talks Hermione's ear off about Harry." Caiside shook her head.

Callidus snorted with amusement.

"Though as annoying as that can be, I can't imagine how Hermione survived last year."

"Last year? What are you talking about?" Callidus queried.

Caiside gave him a look, as if he had just uttered something of unimaginable stupidity, and she was now reassessing her whole opinion of him. "Tell me you're not serious."

"What are you talking about? What happened last year? As far as I know, no one was trying to kill Hermione."

Caiside's expression became even more incredulous. "Oh Merlin. You are serious. You have no clue, do you?"

Callidus felt his irritation began to grow. "Must you always speak in such ambiguities? Just tell me!"

Caiside gave him an assessing look that was surprisingly cold, and Callidus felt a sudden sense of unease. He found himself wondering if he really wanted to know what Caiside was about to reveal. But Callidus had never been one to shy away from knowledge, even if it was unpleasant. He considered it a mark of intelligence to be able to handle difficult or upsetting information.

"Well, as you may or may not be aware, Hermione didn't really have many friends last year aside from you, Harry and Draco," Caiside began.

"Yes. I'm aware. Where are you going with this?"

"Have you given any thought at all as to how that might have affected Hermione?" Caiside questioned.

Callidus furrowed his brows. "Well, I'm sure it was hard at first, but she spent most of her time in the library anyway." Callidus really hoped this wouldn't turn into some ridiculous talk about feelings. The very notion made him want to cringe.

Caiside sighed heavily, as if she were talking to a particularly dull-witted infant. "Yes. Hard is one way I'd put it. But I can see that you're not getting what I'm saying. Let me ask you this then. Have you thought about what it would be like to be a Gryffindor and have no friends in Gryffindor and have your only friends be Slytherins? Or if that's too difficult to grasp, think of what your life would be like if you had no friends in Slytherin, and spent all your time with only me, Ginny and Hermione."

Callidus frowned. "Hermione never told me she was having a hard time in Gryffindor."

Caiside rolled her eyes. "You really think she's the sort of person who would spill out her feelings to you three? Were you really that welcoming of her?"

"We welcomed Hermione," Callidus answered defensively. "And besides, I would have thought that the noble and chivalrous Gryffindors would be above turning against one of their own lions."

Caiside gave him a disbelieving look. "What universe do you live in? Have you met any of the Weasleys? From the way Ron talks about the lot of you, I'd think that you must have had some personal encounters."

Callidus narrowed his eyes. "Ron Weasley has been bothering Hermione? That particular weasel isn't fit to lick the bottom of her boots."

Caiside shrugged. "It's not like any of the girls are any better either. Lavender and Parvati are vicious airheads who have spent the last year trying to completely smear Hermione's reputation. It's obvious to anyone with half a brain that they're jealous - I mean, I've heard them talking about how fit they think Harry and Draco are - and their taste is even questionable enough to think that you look all right - that is, whenever you bother to clean up your hair. Anyway, it's obvious that they can't stand the fact that Hermione is friendly with the three of you. Their only saving grace is that the rumours they've tried to start are too stupid to be believable."

"They talk about me?" Callidus asked, completely surprised by the idea.

"Ugh! Don't get a big head about it. They spend far more time talking about Harry. And that's not the point! The point is Hermione." Caiside gave him a hard glare.

A feeling of guilt arose in Callidus's gut. In truth, he hadn't given much thought to how Hermione's life was like. He did recall her being upset last Hallowe'en, and then there was the weird incident with that Ravenclaw Lisa Turpin. But Callidus had been preoccupied with his potions work, and with the strange occurances around the school. How could he have known that things were so hard for Hermione?

Caiside, who seemed to have had read the expression on Callidus's face, shook her head. "Boys," she muttered. "You're all so oblivious."

They walked the rest of the way to the library in silence, but just before they entered, Caiside paused, and Callidus gave her a questioning look. He already had enough of a weight on his emotions, and a part of him was expecting the worst.

"Look, you're not a bad wizard," Caiside clarified, sounding more sympathetic. "You're actually all right, as far as wizards go. It's just - try and think about what it means to be a decent friend, all right?"

Callidus nodded. With the conflict between Harry and Draco, the last thing he wanted to deal with was more friendship drama. And he knew that Caiside was right - Hermione had always been a good-hearted person and she deserved to have good friends.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I have so much on my plate, so updates will continue to be 1x/week for now