C007 - The irritating Malfoy

Instead of doing what Flitwick instructed, I turned to Sue Li at the next table. As a muggleborn with no access to the magical world before the letter, her Lumos was by far the worst. And either she didn't devour her textbooks like Hermione did and was missing critical information - or her talents in Charms was lower than Hermione's.

I was about to get closer and explain my thought process behind the spell when Harry, who was closer to her, did what I had planned under the grateful look of the other girls.

I merely watched for a moment before shrugging my shoulder and thinking that Sue wasn't the only muggleborn in the room I could help to improve my image among the Ravenclaws and our head of house and started sharing my knowledge on the variants with Hermione who merely knew the names but not how to cast them save for the Lumos Solem that she hadn't tried before but knew because of Herbology.

We both tried the Lumos Duo spell since we were familiar with flashlights, and I already demonstrated it. Ultimately, I managed to make this beam of light slightly off-color with an orange tint but nothing more. Flitwick made the rounds and praised my progress, awarding me another house point.

Though, I still didn't get the most points during this class. That honor went to Natalie Rosier, who managed to cast the light rope spell to decorate her table with a band of light in rose red color.

'Vinda Rosier... wasn't she known for illusion magic? Or was that fanfic lore? That light band completely ignores all rules of physics on how light should act. It has to have an illusion component,' I mused as I watched Flitwick award her ten points for the spell.

"Don't worry, we'll catch up in no time," I whispered to Hermione since she looked kind of defeated after seeing how much further ahead the 'purebloods' were. "They have a leg up since they grew up around magic, but we will have our own advantages for growing up around technology, for example."

I lowered my voice even further so only she could hear and added, "Look at Crabbe. Not all of them are ahead of us."

A little louder once I saw Hermione gain a slight smile, I concluded with, "And comparing yourself to others is a losers mentally in the first place. There's always someone better than you. Always. So if you need to compare yourself still, don't do it to judge your talent, merely your current standing, and look at what you can improve upon."

I watched Flitwick give me yet another approving nod from the corner of my eyes and Hermione's grateful look before sighing a little.

'Just how much of that is truly 'me' and how much of this is a play to get what I want with Flitwick and everything else? I think I talked more today than I did during a whole year at the orphanage... and it isn't even lunch.'

The lesson was concluded shortly after, and the students prepared to go to the next class. Conveniently, Professor Quirrellmort taught DADA just a floor below so the Ravenclaws would only need to try their luck to go one floor down to meet the Hufflepuffs. Finding out that Quirrell was possessed was pretty easy thanks to my meta knowledge after I entered the classroom eventually.

His smell was faint sweet rot - if you knew that there was something more to smell - covered by copious amount of garlic and the reason my next spell to master was the bubblehead charm to see if it could shield me from suffering through an hour and a half of enduring that scent.

Yet, before we could get to the stairs me and Harry were held up by Malfoy and a few other Slytherin boys while all the girls simply looked on. Hermione, Sue, and Lisa made a movement to step forward as well but were stopped by the other girls with a shake of their heads. I could see Isobel with a silent Padma and Mandy next to her talk to Natalie and Isodora, but other than that, Harry and I had to brace ourselves for some word vomit by the looks of things.

"You think you're funny, Macnair?" Malfoy started as he saw me smile faintly at the situation.

"Can we stop all of this and skip to talking on another day until after your daddy told you what to truly think about us?" I asked calmly, though with a slight mocking grin. 'Ugh, freaking teenage hormons! Why antagonise the bastard!? And why risk letting them know about my meta knowledge? Invoking Lucius' name when he didn't once say his classic line 'wait until my father hears about this' in my presence, so I couldn't even explain that sentence if pressed!'

"What did you just say, Macnair?" Malfoy asked with a menacing leer that didn't truly affect me and pulled out his wand to point it at me. "You think I'm some kind of joke? You think we wouldn't find out that your mother was a blood traitor or something?"

I knew that this could hurt, but I still chose not to defend myself in this situation. First of all, this was the first day, so what could I do except for blinding Malfoy with a Lumos or possibly try casting a curse for the first time? But both options would only result in all of us being at fault, not just Malfoy. I also counted on the potential spell damage to push my agenda or learning combat magic from Flitwick. Just lessons in spell deflection and proper battle strategies would help immensely.

"Malfoy, I learned that my mother was a witch and that magic is real less than two months ago. Do you truly think I know what it entails to be a blood traitor or why I should care why that matters to you to such an extent? You seem to know more about my mother than I do," I lied. "Is this truly worth losing even more house points and getting even longer detentions for?"

Malfoy slightly faltered. He was pompous and easily triggered, but he wasn't completely stupid.

If I truly didn't know any of this, wasn't antagonising me just pushing away a potential ally in case I decided to be a minion like my grandfather?

'And now he probably started thinking on whether or not he should truly wait until he hears back from Lucius to know how to handle me. Well, I hope so anyway. A few days of peace would be appreciated.'

But he wasn't done apparently and simply ignored me in favor of addressing Harry, "We met on the Hogwarts Express, and you denied knowing the whereabouts of Harry Potter. Why lie? I would find your name out eventually?"

'Wow, why is he so direct about asking? Where is his subtlety and cunning? See! Even Natalie and Isodora are shaking their heads...'

"You asked if I had seen Harry Potter," Harry calmly answered and ignored the wand pointed at him, too. Either I was a calming presence, or he favored a similar approach to bullies as me. "I cannot see myself, and there were no mirrors in the compartment."

I had to stifle another smirk so that I wouldn't trigger Malfoy's short fuse. But a few of the girls watching us failed. Even Pansy, who I thought was a die-hard fan of the Malfoy scion, was grinning at Harry in appreciation before hiding the smile quickly.

"Watch your attitude, Potter. Your actions can be construed as the start of a feud," Malfoy pompously declared. "But I can be forgiving. You need someone to tell you who to mingle with since you newly entered our world. I could be your guide. An ally, even."

Harry stared at Malfoy for a long while, likely simulating all his answers before suggesting, "Magical Etiquette later on seems to offer a particular insight into magical politics. If your offer is as enticing as you make it sound, I shall consider it."

'Huh. No outright refusal, and he merely promised to consider it. Harry is smart, but denying Malfoy will likely earn him a permanent enemy during his school years anyway. A true lose-lose situation unless he becomes Malfoy's follower for some dim-witted reason and plays him like a puppet. Malfoy doesn't look like the forgiving type, and playing word games against him will only earn Harry his ire. I should start my plan 'Gossip Queen' asap. But who to choose?'

Gossip Queen was a plan to initially get on the good side of one of the witches that loved to gossip and do it in my favor or let me in on secrets early because of my actions. My best choice was trying to romance this 'queen', though doing it for the sole purpose of the plan was kind of cruel. Unless I made my intentions clear before the dating, but I'm no natural Casanova, so I'll have to tread unknown waters, and the whole thing could instantly backfire immensely.

For the potential targets from canon, Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, who were both in Gryffindor, along with Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot in Hufflepuff, or Pansy Parkinson in Slytherin were my original targets in descending order of likeliness of working.

Now, I knew better. As future spouses in canon, Hannah and Neville were already dating in this alternate universe and this was one of the reasons Neville likely followed his girl into the house of the badgers as opposed to the house of the lions like in the original.

That struck off one of the girls, and Susan was unlikely, too, because I didn't want to use someone my mum wanted me to grow up with, despite not knowing the specifics at the time. I'd have to talk to Susan eventually, just for my own peace of mind, but I didn't know how yet.

Pansy, on the other hand, had been unlikely from the very beginning since she was obviously smitten with Draco Malfoy in the books. Now, it looked like reality was a little different, but hanging out with Hermione and the other non-purebloods so casually probably didn't put me in a great position to vie for her affection regardless. Tracey Davis had always been a more likely target in Slytherin, but Daphne Greengrass was too close to her and despite being the target of countless fanfic romances, she was a wild-card known to be cold and literally nothing more in canon. That didn't sound like someone who gossips with a random boy from another house.

That left me with the two Gryffindor gossip queens or the additions that didn't appear in the books. I had a great in with Parvati since I already 'knew' her, so she was probably my go-to for the first attempt.

Back to the situation, Malfoy narrowed his eyes slightly but finally used his cunning and let Harry of the hook for the moment. No spells flew, and the resolution was rather lackluster, but the consequences were likely far-reaching. Malfoy for all his pomp did have the necessary background to make our lives harder. Well, we could just not fall for his obvious attempts at pranks like the midnight wizard's duel from canon... but it would get tiring quickly.

DADA was exactly as I feared. Apart from Harry sometimes massaging his forehead, likely because his scar was hurting, nothing worthwhile happened. Quirrell didn't teach properly. Nobody spoke up, and all in all, it was a waste of time that would have left me wanting to burn my robes if they weren't enchanted to always smell nice.

"Huh, if we had a double DADA lesson, I'd probably shave off my hair. No way you can get that smell out of it after sitting in his classroom for 3 hours," I quipped and earned a few snickers from everyone moving together to the great hall for lunch.

I truly didn't know what came over me trying to lift the mood of close to thirty kids. That wasn't me from the fourteen years before... I had to accept that I was changing after all. I needed to find out if Dumbledore was the reason.

"I'll ask my aunt for some more pocket money to buy extra perfume regardless," Susan joked back as she coincidentally walked next to me.

'Should I use this opportunity already to talk to her? I should just rip off the band-aid... but do I ask in the middle of the full roster of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff first years?'

A few more students complained about the lesson in a joking manner, and I saw Harry and Neville talk at the back of the group with a... nervous Hannah looking on.

'Huh, telling him about his sick mum being his godmother or something?' I mused as I saw that and decided to go ahead with me, revealing myself to Susan as someone who knew their mother and aunt were acquaintances.

"Hey Miss Bones, may I talk to you in private for a moment?" I whispered to her and guided her to the side of the group to fall back. I knew some of the more keen-eyed witches in the group noticed my actions, but I didn't know how else to do it today.

Susan looked a little flustered at the stares she had noticed as well but tried to keep up a brave front.

"How can I help, Macnair?" She asked with a slight blush on her cheeks, likely imagining all kinds of wild scenarios in her head.

"Call me Talion," I offered with an easy-going smile before I got the thick of it. "I inherited my mum's notes when I opened my family vault last month. In it, she claims that Amelia Bones was her confidant and best of friends. I inquired with my housemates and heard she was your aunt."

I saw Susan narrow her eyes immediately.

'Huh, people trying to get close to her influential aunt through her. I should have worded this differently - I'm a moron.'

"Well, I also heard what kind of position she holds, and I assure you, I'm not trying to get to her through you. Not for the purpose you're imagining right now, at least. I know nothing about Selena Macnair apart from what is written in her schoolnotes, I haven't even seen a picture of her. If you could ask your aunt for nothing but a picture, I swear I will never pester you again for such a matter if you so wish."

Susan's eyes had started to water lightly, probably remembering the fact that I was an orphan same as her, but at least she grew up in the comfort of family - well, if her aunt wasn't as much of a workaholic as most fanfics painted her to be.

"I'll ask. I cannot promise much, though," Susan whispered back with a forlorn expression.

"Yeah, I won't hold a grudge if it doesn't work out," I joked with a wink before falling into a conspiratorial whisper. "Imagine if whoever found baby me knew about my mum's relationship to your aunt if it's even true. Maybe we would have been raised as siblings."

Underhanded though it was, I craved to no longer be alone after this school year. That much I could admit to myself even through the changes my personality went through. And living in a house in the wilds outside of Glasgow all by my lonesome with Patrick, the house elf, didn't sound too appealing unless I was allowed to cast spells in a magical home. Amelia Bones was my ticket to a loyal ally if all I knew about her was true.

In all honesty, this was a terrible gamble because Amelia was mentioned only one singular time in the notes as far as I have seen - that was if the initials AB were even meant for her. If Amelia ever pressed me to see the notes, I couldn't comply no matter what.