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Harry and Lacerta turned back to look at one another, and then as they'd done before, looked back at the person that'd caught them together before any other. It was Neville, and rather than outrage or anything of that ilk, the other boy was just looking between the two teens with curiosity and confusion running amuck on his face. Evidently, like just about any other person at Hogwarts, he hadn't expected to find Lacerta and Harry, together, least of all with so little distance betwixt the two.

Conscious of just how close they'd become, Harry took a couple of steps away from Lacerta's side. It wasn't like he despised her, no, he'd come to see her in a vastly different light… but she was still Lacerta and he was still Harry; it didn't help the matter any that she's gotten rather pretty since first they'd met.

"We're talking," Lacerta said, she finally being the one to break the awkward silence that'd begun to fall. "I thought that'd be inc—" she stopped, cutting herself off, and then she spoke again, a deceptively sweet look on her face. "Harry and I are no longer at odds with one another, we've made amends, as one might say. As such, I was on my way to the cabin in which I'll be travelling, and I was intending to bring Harry along to formally introduce him to my closest companions."

"And I was telling her that she'll get to 'officially' meet Ron and 'Mione," Harry tacked on, just to show that she'd not gotten one past him.

"Oh." Neville looked between the two a few more times, his mouth firmly fixed shut now, and then in the span of another few seconds, he just began to nod to himself. He did so a dozen, maybe two dozen times when all was said and done. "Alright. I'll see you in the Tower, Harry."

And, like that, the other boy reversed course and left whence he'd come, the confusion palpable. Harry supposed it could've gone far worse, 'specially if it was Ron that found them before Harry could smooth things over a bit. Actually, the more he thought about that, the more he realised how much more there still was to do in that regard; a plan would be a great first step.

"Rather strange, isn't he?" Lacerta asked without interest, her gaze falling to her nails. It seemed she'd taken issue with them, for one reason or another.

"Not really," Harry said with a shrug. "Neville's just a bit shy. He's always been like that, remember our first year? When you threw his remember-all?"

"It slipped."

Harry blinked at Lacerta, but he didn't press the matter and he'd not do so. The past was the past, and just because she'd been especially bratty back then didn't mean she'd not changed recently… maybe he didn't want her to know just how highly he thought of her in recent times either. He couldn't have that ego of hers grow any larger than it already was.

"Uh-huh," Harry acknowledged, and then he looked up and down the corridor. There was barely a peer of theirs out and about, it seemed like most everybody was either in their carriage already or further back on the train. Harry swore it felt like Hogwarts classes grew smaller year to year. "We going, then?"

"How do you mean?" Lacerta's gaze fell back on him, the interest in her nails over in an instant. Strangely, she seemed a bit flushed; maybe she didn't like trains much… she looked closer to him again too.

"We were going to your friends first, weren't we?" Harry thought that'd been the plan, at the very least.

"Oh. You're quite correct. I was simply testing your patience to see if it'd grown since first we met — it has, if only by a few hairs worth, in case you were curious," Lacerta's rambling stopped abruptly, and she pushed past him, one of her hands pulling his for a few steps with nary a glance at him.

He raised his brows at her, asking a question silently; one that she'd not see and wouldn't, until they reached the cabin they were headed to. Once that happened — that being something that took no more than thirty seconds at the most — she paused to look at him, and it was then that she noticed the look on his face.

"Something wrong, Harry?"

"Are you sick?" he asked without feeling a need to beat around the bush. "You've been red since Neville spoke to us."

Lacerta narrowed her eyes at him, folded her arms, and huffed. "I'm perfectly well, thank you," she stepped back and gestured — sassily if he did say so — to the door. "If you'd be so kind."

Harry looked at her for a few seconds before he acted. He wasn't sure what had her acting so strange, but eventually, he shrugged and took the one step needed to grab hold of the door and pull it open. After doing so, he stepped back and away from the door so that Lacerta might enter, and she did, quickly. It was pretty admirable, and definitely quicker than she'd ever moved on a broom.

"Lacerta, you've brought a guest."

Harry's eyes and attention were diverted away from Lacerta, and over to the other girl that spoke in a manner that indirectly addressed him. Greengrass, the older of the two, Daphne, had been the one that'd spoken. She was sat beside a far larger girl in every meaning, thus meaning she was Millicent Bulstrode, and across from another girl, and a boy, the latter was Blaise Zabini; Harry knew him more than any of the witches. The two boys had a shared interest in Quidditch, and that tended to offer a nice ice-breaker when groups were formed by a Professor. As for the third girl, Harry thought she might be a Flint or Rowle, but he wasn't sure which, exactly.

"As I said when I wrote to you all, Harry and I have finally come to an understanding with one another. We'll no longer be attempting to subvert whatsoever it is that he's doing, and we'll cease our provoking him, especially in Potions with Professor Snape," Lacerta sat with all the grace of a lady twice her age and royal to boot, her hands coming to fold in her lap prettily as she looked pointedly at the space opposite of her. "Morgana knows you could use the help, Harry."

A few snickers rose up from around the cabin, Daphne and Blaise kept theirs shorter than the other two. Lacerta, meanwhile, didn't seem to have any malice in her tone. It'd been more a statement said in jest than anything else. He was thankful too, he hadn't been sure if she'd revert back to an older form of herself when she reunited with her friends, or remain the way she'd been since the incident that'd bound them together.

Thus far, early as it was to say, it seemed like she'd remained the same. That wasn't to say the brat, princess-like nature of her was gone. Not by any means.

"I could, yeah, reckon you're right," he took the seat she'd offered, and spoke again, a grin forming as the words rolled off his tongue. "Would you want help in Defense once I've got my Potions marks up?"

He knew he scored consistently higher than she did in Defense, and he knew how embarrassed she'd been when their duel had gone the way that it had. Even that cheating summons spell couldn't turn the tide. Merlin, that was one of his best memories even now, friends as they were.

"I'll score higher this year."

"Nope."

"I will."

"Adorable," interjected the voice of Daphne, before Harry could correct Lacerta a second time; he still couldn't believe she thought she'd score higher than he would in Defense. Her. "Have either of you heard about our new Defense Professor, by any chance? You're more than welcome to return to your squabble if neither of you have."

Harry figured that was his invitation to return to the squabble, but when he looked back over at Lacerta, she didn't seem quite so sure. In fact, based on the face that she was making, it looked like she had quite a bit to say about the Professor — and after a further few seconds, she did.

And to think Harry hadn't even known they were getting a new Professor; he wondered how much else he didn't know that she did.

"He's rather tall, with shaggy hair and a calm, patient demeanour. Professor Dumbledore thought fondly of him, Father said, and the man's background was of interest to my Father. Unfortunately, I shan't say more," Lacerta looked at Harry then, a look flashing across her face that conveyed the opposite of what she'd just said allowed; it spoke of a desire for them to speak later. All the same, she spoke again, almost in the manner that conveyed these words came as an afterthought. "Rubeus Hagrid, the… Groundskeeper was also given the title Professor. He'll be teaching about Magical Creatures and all the uses they supposedly have."

"Maybe Blaise can go and learn how to handle Veela since he loves the things so much." Those were the first words from the other girl, the Rowle or whoever she was, and unsurprising as it was, those were the last he heard from her before she took a hasty leave from the group.

Harry looked over at Blaise then, his eyebrows raised in question, but it was Daphne that answered.

"Blaise once found himself enthralled one evening at a gala in Southern France, Alina's been quite upset ever since," Daphne said, an air about her that seemed casual, as if galas were a fact of life.

It was easy to forget sometimes just how different the Purebloods like Greengrass, Lacerta and all of the others lived. Really, it was only because he'd been living with Lacerta over the summer that he'd come to understand them. Well, not entirely, but he knew heaps more than he used to. It explained a bit about why they were so old seeming.

"They weren't even courting," Bulstrode said with a roll of her eyes before she leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees as she looked Harry up and down. "You're not growing very fast."

"You're not that much bigger than me." He returned. "Everybody knows blokes grow slower too."

Millicent scoffed and looked over at Lacerta. "Speaking of courting, are the two of you?"

"That's very forward," Daphne said with one brow arched. Harry furrowed his own in response. He wasn't concerned with the words they were saying, he found it funny, if anything, since Lacerta was growing red as she'd previously been, he was moreso focused on Daphne's eyebrow.

It looked so straight and well-kept that he thought it'd been drawn on with a pencil. He wasn't sure how she did it, but it was pretty intriguing, and definitely quite impressive… if only also a touch strange in how it looked. It had the oddity about it that only something that was too perfect had if that made sense.

"We're not courting, Millicent," Lacerta said, seconds later when her face wasn't quite as red as it'd initially been. "Even if we were, I'd not declare it, but we're not, nor would we. Harry and I were enemies, and now, we're companions — no. Don't even mention it."

Harry blinked at the sudden change in direction the last few words had. He wasn't sure what the cause for them had been, but it definitely piqued his interest.

"Enlightening," Daphne said with a clap of her hands. "Harry, have you ever played a wondrous and illustrious game of eye-spy whilst travelling to Hogwarts?"

And thus began a game of eye-spy… until the time came for Harry to drag Lacerta over to Ron and 'Mione. He wasn't sure why, but the very thought of introducing her to his closest friends made him get cold. Really cold.

So cold, in fact, that it somehow managed to freeze over the glass panes of the cabin door and carriage window.

"Something's wrong," Remarked Bulstrode as she came to stand, her height a touch higher than last Harry recalled. "It shouldn't be this cold."

"Somebody could have cast something a bit stronger than they meant to. It's not impossible on account of the number of fools admitted into Hogwarts," Blaise remarked dryly as he straightened out his back and adjusted the front of his robes.

"That'd be quite the spell if it's managed to freeze the glass," Lacerta said, doubt evident in her tone. "If only Crabbe or Goyle were here, I'd have one of them go out an— did you see that? Something's out there."

Harry's head, along with those of all the others, snapped to the compartment door when Lacerta gasped. Whatever she'd seen had evaded the others, but he didn't imagine it was anything pleasant if Lacerta were spooked already… then again, she'd never been the most courageous sort.

"Blaise?" Harry asked as he nudged the other boy with his elbow. "Head out with me and take a look?"

Blaise scoffed with an almost affronted look on his face at the suggestion. "You're kidding," he said. "What in Merlin's name do you think would entice me to head where Lacerta just saw something strange? It could be a vampire or worse."

Daphne seemed particularly pro-Blaise, and with an almost lazy flick of her wrist, a beam of light shot out to the cabin door. It impacted with a soft splash-like effect that rippled across the entirety of the cabin's interior walls and then fizzled out as if it'd never existed. Harry, having watched the whole thing transpire, looked at Daphne with a look of open interest.

It worked when she responded. "A particularly helpful spell to ensure one's privacy — that door won't open unless there's somebody particularly powerful opposite it."

"She means to say no vampire will be getting through it. Not unless they destroy much and more of the whole wagon we're inside," Lacerta said plainly, and with an approving nod shod to the other blonde once she'd made her point. "I suppose we wait and see what transpires."

Harry looked between the others in the cabin and nearly scoffed. They were all entirely disinterested in the happenings throughout the train, and completely unbothered by the cold, content to act as if nothing were happening. Save for them adjusting their clothes or running their wands down said clothing, they were all content to look out the exterior window of the train.

He did so as well. With how much ice had come, one couldn't make out anything inside, especially with the darkness. Outside wasn't all that much better, but at least you could get a bit of the light that nature gave you.

Harry squinted his eyes after a few seconds of looking out of the window with the others. For a moment, he thought he'd seen something. It was large, person-sized, and in the air a good dozen or so meters. It didn't make sense initially, but that washed away with ease when he realised just where exactly he was and where exactly they were headed.

"I didn't see a broom, did you?" he whispered to Lacerta.

"You wouldn't."

It wasn't Lacerta that responded to him, but Bulstrode, who was sat back down with her head peaking out of her robes; the rest of her body was concealed.

Harry blinked, and when she didn't say anything else, he leaned forward, intrigued. "And why wouldn't I? What are they?"

"Dementors, I think," Bulstrode's words elicited sharp intakes of breath from the others in the cabin, but Harry only furrowed his brows. He'd heard a bit about the creatures, but his knowledge of them was next to nothing. Based on the others, he supposed he should be nervous.

"You're right," Lacerta agreed, her face, nose and neck all reddish, as if she'd been standing outside in December. "It was rather obvious, in hindsight, wasn't it? Daphne, you're certain that ward will hold, right?"

"Rather certain," Daphne winced immediately after speaking when a series of screams sounded somewhere further down the cabin. "I'll ensure the quality of my work, and if anybody else would like to add security of their own, please, I'm all for cooperation."

Harry knew a spell for privacy by way of eavesdropping, but he didn't exactly know anything to ward areas off. He hadn't so much as taken Ancient Runes, and though that wasn't a great excuse, it was one that usually conveyed who gave a toss about wards and the like, and who didn't… but then again, maybe taking the course would be helpful.

When he saw Blaise and Lacerta join in, leaving him only in the company of Bulstrode, he reckoned he'd give it a try in his own time. Bulstrode was good company in a fight, he was positive about that, but he didn't exactly fancy being in the same range of marks as her. She wasn't especially intelligent.

"Wonderful," Daphne nearly clapped her hands, but stopped short and folded them up in her lap with an almost pained expression. "Now we wait for order to be restored."

It took nearly ten minutes before a knock reached their door that said about the same as Daphne had.

Hogwarts was off to a wonderful start.

"Can you believe it? The gal somebody had to order such an attack whilst we're aboard," Lacerta was seething with rage as she twirled on her heels, the storm outside all but forgotten as she jabbed a finger accusatorily at the shadows that danced along the wall nearest to her. "My parents will have them sent to Azkaban!"

"Any idea who it was?" Harry asked from his spot seated a few chairs away from her.

After the incident and the sorting, and finally, the feast, the two had gone off to speak with one another in private. Daphne had made a remark that he hadn't caught, but Lacerta had looked positively murderous, so he could imagine along which lines it'd been. All the same, Lacerta essentially led Slytherin, and if not all of it, the vast majority of the younger years. He didn't imagine their newfound companionship would transpire into anything horrible.

If anything, it might even help keep people away from the typical bullying considering he oft received half of it, if not more.

"No. Not in the slightest," Lacerta folded her arms and stared angrily through the window, the train slamming into it and the occasional flash of lightning all that was visible.

From where Harry was standing, her silence, the way the light of torch and lightning illuminated her, she almost looked as if she belonged in a painting. He couldn't believe he hadn't realised just how pretty she was… then again when she was sneering at him as often as she used to be, he supposed it made sense.

"So what're we doing?"

Lacerta turned, her arms still folded across her chest, and shrugged. "I'll write home and tell my parents what transpired, and afterwards, I'll tell you what they respond with. I can't imagine Mother will tolerate this or Father will let her."

"You think they'll find out who it was? If anybody?" Harry asked with a yawn; it'd been a busy day.

"It was most certainly somebody, and yes, they'll find out. I imagine it won't take very long either. Nothing eludes my parents for very long, believe me," Lacerta yawned and glared at him after doing so. "That's your fault — walk me to the dungeons."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You mean escort you to the Slytherin entrance along that long, bare stretch of wall, don't you?"

Lacerta's glare gave way to suspicion, and from there, they had an enlightening conversation until the two arrived at their destination nearly ten minutes later.

When Lacerta made to separate, Harry caught her hand, and from there, her eyes with his own. "Lacerta?"

"Harry."

"You'll be nice to Hagrid tomorrow, right? You and others?" Harry tried to stress by way of his facial expressions and tone of voice just how important this was; Hagrid deserved respect. "Please?"

Lacerta kept up eye contact with Harry for nearly five seconds, thoughts flashing through her eyes in a manner that was obvious even to Harry. Eventually, her lips rose into a small smile, and she nodded at him, a mischievous look on her face.

"I'll be kind to him, and I'll make sure the others are too," Lacerta's smile grew larger until she was practically beaming at him; the look was innocent, but he knew on account of her portraying it that it was anything but. "And in return, you'll join me and the others every Friday in the evening to study. They'll come to see you in the same light as I."

Harry very much doubted that, and he wasn't one for studying… but if it meant she'd keep the peace with Hagrid, then he was all but forced into agreeing. Hey, maybe he could learn Ancient Runes from Lacerta, at least the basics. That or Potions, either would work.

Maybe she could even speak with Snape for me. If anybody could have him get off my arse, it'd be her.

"Deal."

Lacerta extended a hand, and Harry took it, about ready to shake it, until he remembered what she'd likely desire. It was still strange, but he supposed he'd respect her desires, and as such, he raised the hand to his lips and pressed a kiss atop the back of it. Lacerta's hand was certainly as soft and pale as he'd remembered when they'd 'practised' this action back at her home.

She giggled girlishly — victoriously — and then curtsied. "Wonderful. I'll see you in the morning. Do come and speak with me before class, won't you?"

And before he could so much as mutter a word of response, Lacerta had turned on her heels, said in a hushed tone of voice a phrase, and exited through the entrance as it appeared. For a moment, he thought about following her for a refresher of what the Slytherin Common Room looked like, but ultimately, he decided against it.

He was sure he'd have another chance sometime in the future.

Harry shook his head and rolled his eyes when Ron spoke about the Cannons for the fifteenth time today. They'd made some move, a new Keeper, if Harry could recall, and Ron hadn't shut up since. It wasn't like the one bloke would completely turn the tide, but Ron wouldn't hear it and regardless of what anybody else said, it was the Cannons year now.

At least until their next game where they lose by a hundred or more like always.

"Why's Malfoy coming towards us so fast?" Ron asked with the question directed at Harry as the boy's eyes sought out the aforementioned girl over Harry's shoulder; they'd been loitering under a tree waiting for class to start.

Harry turned so as to see Lacerta, and sure enough, she was coming toward him at speed. "Hey?"

Lacerta stopped only when she was a few feet away, and following after her were Daphne and Blaise, the others lingering further back and speaking amongst themselves. Slytherins oft kept together.

"Harry," she greeted, her eyes falling to Ron for all of a second before they returned to Harry even as she spoke the latter's name. "Weasley."

"Where's Professor Hagrid, Harry? You're a friend of his, aren't you?" Daphne inquired over Lacerta's shoulder, a genuine, curious edge to her voice.

"Dunno," he answered before he turned to Ron, a hand patting the other boy on the shoulder. "Remember how last night I told you I wanted to talk to you about something?"

"Harry, if you tell m—"

Harry smiled wide and patted Ron again. "Yeah," he said with a nod at the Slytherins. "These are that something."

I really should have spoken with him yesterday. Oops.