After potions, Tom smiled as his witch's friends laughed. They shared every class, so it was easy to fit in. He didn't have to cultivate alliances or watch his back. It was comforting. The other students had watched him for only a few moments. He had been a minor oddity only.
They watched Hermione though. She made no effort to attract their attention, but she held it. Her public face as a rebellious know it all held them fascinated. If they had ever seen the Machiavellian mind in truth, they would stand in awe.
"Does she always manage to outstrip Malfoy?" He smiled and Luna nodded.
"Always." Luna pirouetted and skipped amongst the group. "He's never brewed a better potion than she has."
"He tried though." Neville chuckled.
"Keeps trying." Greg nodded along. "He did get her the once. It wasn't a better potion though."
"He didn't care for Luna being added to our group. Kept saying we shouldn't be encouraged in our madness." Millie smirked. "He was going to lodge a complaint about her joining our group with the board of governors. His father is on the board. He will be sure to tell you that at some point, but back then he was particularly obsessed with our Luna. She was working through first year material and second at the same time. It was hard work, but we were afraid he'd find some support."
"So, Hermione asked him to give it a month. She was so sweet and so sure of me." Luna snickered. "Malfoy doesn't much care for sweets, and he hated the fact that Hermione had better marks than he did. He decided to take her down a notch. He told her he would give her a month if she brewed a perfect polyjuice potion in that time."
"Is today the day we revisit my every humiliation?" Hermione snarled and stalked ahead of the group. Tom noted that she never traveled too far ahead.
"She brewed it in our common room." Greg shook his head. "There is nothing appealing about that potion. It smells bad, it looks worse, and it makes odd gurgling noises as it simmers. It was also supposed to be well above our skill set, but she did it."
Hermione charged back to the group. He could sense her anger and embarrassment. Her hair was sparking as she glared at each of them in turn.
"Malfoy played me. He claimed It couldn't be real. I was too brash and too proud. I offered to test it. I yanked out one of my own hairs and put it in a cup with a dose of the potion. Millie drank it, and there were two of me standing there." Hermione paced through them with her fists clenched. "He laughed and said he'd back off about Luna, but hadn't I better switch into Millie before someone noticed there were two of me. He plucked a hair off Millie's robes and dropped it in another cup. I poured the potion in and drank it."
"Millie loves her familiar." Neville smiled. "She really loves that kneazle."
"I turned into a half cat thing." Hermione closed her eyes. "I had a tail. It was three hours of humiliation. Polyjuice isn't meant for use with animal hair."
"It wasn't a great day, but they called in Severus Snape to consult." Luna patted her. "He's been teaching us potions during breaks since. He's the very best."
"If it weren't for him, you wouldn't have discovered the Ferret potion." Neville grinned.
"Ferret potion?" Tom raised a brow as Hermione's smile bloomed bold and fierce.
"I wanted to work on transfiguration. I had a goal in mind." She tilted her head back and closed her eyes. "There's a potion that can be used to help you learn the spell I was studying. I brewed it. Then I worked it over for months. It was simple enough to feed it to Malfoy. He thought it was pepper up."
"Now, he turns into a ferret at random moments for random lengths of time." Millie clapped her hands and bounced on her toes. "He still doesn't know why." Neville smirked.
"They've called in specialists and curse breakers. I do have an antidote, but he could use the lesson in humility." Hermione giggled. "Someday, I'll develop a cure for his affliction. Probably when I need funding for some other project."
Tom smiled at her. It felt odd to genuinely smile. He'd never really enjoyed anything that didn't cause others pain in his previous life.
"We don't have all day." Hermione grabbed his hand and pulled him to the front of the group with her. "I need to get my dragon hide on before the duel."
"I'll make sure our first aid kit is ready." Luna nodded. "Snape sent some more dittany."
"I'll contact Snape this time." Greg frowned. "He'll want to know ahead of time."
"He was a bit upset last time." Neville nodded. "He had just started preparing some rare ingredient when Madame Pomfrey contacted him. I thought he was going to curse Dumbledore. He's bloody terrifying."
"They won't let him serve as my magical guardian, but he's first on my emergency contacts list. It's not like my parents can floo in." Hermione tossed her curls back over her shoulder. "Millie, will you do my hair. Your braids always last longer than mine."
"Why are we preparing for battle?" Tom looked at her as they moved quickly through the halls.
"It's better to be prepared for the worst." Hermione shrugged one shoulder.
"Potter was practicing new hexes with his father and his godfather when they visited last weekend. They put on quite a show in the main courtyard." Neville sighed. "Harry's an arse, but has some talent. Don't let the baffled and haughty expressions fool you. There's power there."