Until The End

Until The End

Chapter 5: The Study Group

"In truth, some people like the pain. They enjoy it because they believe that they deserve it."

Xavier Desmond’s P.O.V:

Potions class had begun, something both Xavier and Ron had been looking forward to immensely. Once everyone had been seated, Professor Snape had billowed into the classroom and began calling the roll order. After a few names, he came upon Harry’s name and halted.

“Ah, Mr. Potter,” Snape started softly. “Our new… celebrity.”

Malfoy and his goons began snickering away, as usual, making Ron fixate a death glare at them while Xavier scowled to himself. Twats…

"Potter!" Snape snapped suddenly, making everyone jump in surprise. "What potion would I most likely get if I added powdered root of Asphodel to an infusion of Wormwood?"  

Harry looked completely lost and it was indicated by his mouth hanging open slightly. Xavier and Ron both knew the answer to that but also had some sense to keep both of their mouths shut to not piss of Snape. Hermione Granger, on the other hand, clearly didn’t read the vibe of the room and shot her hand into the air, desperately trying to grab Professor Snape’s attention.

"I… I don't know sir…" Harry managed to mutter, a look of shame plastered on his face.

"Hmph… very well Potter," Snape sneered at the little boy. "Where would you look if I ordered you to find me a bezoar?" Hermione all but shot out of her seat, reaching her hand as high as she could. Harry just looked down at his hands in humiliation and shook his head.

"I don't know, sir…" he muttered once more. Malfoy and cronies began outright laughing, not minding if the Potions Master heard them and Snape’s lip curled at Harry.

"Bloody gits," Ron whispered in an angry tone.

"What did you expect, eh?” Xavier replied bitterly, eyeing Malfoy and his lackeys with contempt.

"What is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane, Potter?" Snape’s sneer widened. Hermione was now trying to touch the ceiling as she hopped on her feet and threw her hand up with gusto, waving it like a mad person. What’s wrong with her? She clearly doesn’t see that she’s making this whole ordeal worse for Harry…

"I don't know that either, sir," Harry mumbled, his cheeks red from embarrassment.

"Clearly… fame isn't everything," Snape said softly while giving a faint smirk.

"Mr. Weasley!" Snape turned to Ron suddenly, making Ron sit up straight and pay full attention.

"Yes, sir," Ron spoke clearly, gulping slightly.

"Answer the first question I asked Potter," Snape commanded in his soft authoritative voice. Come on, Ron, you’ve easily got this, mate.

"Mixing Asphodel with an infusion of Wormwood would give you a powerful sleeping potion known by the name of Draught of Living Death, sir," Ron spoke clearly, looking straight into Snape's black eyes.

"Mr. Desmond, answer the second one," Snape ordered and Xavier nodded.

"A bezoar is a stone which can be found within the stomach of a goat, and it is known to be able to cure the effects of most poisons," Xavier responded firmly.

"And the last one?" Snape asked, his eyes easing as he knew both Xavier and Ron had been right on point.

"Monkshood and Wolfsbane are the same plant, and they also go by the name of aconite." Xavier and Ron both finished together.  

Snape stared at the two and if Xavier wasn't mistaken, he saw pride in the Potion Master's lifeless, dull eyes.

"Ten points each to Mr. Weasley and Mr. Desmond, for not being absolute dunderheads," Snape said, shooting a condescending look at Harry before facing the blackboard.  

Xavier composed himself, while Ron eased his breathing and when Harry looked at them, he shot them a sad smile, to which they sent one back. It’s quite hypocritical… Harry didn’t ask for his status, and neither did I…

Ron suddenly nudged Xavier and the dark-skinned boy turned to Ron. Ron lowered his head and whispered, “Why is Granger glaring at us, mate?”

Xavier glanced hastily at Hermione Granger who was a few seats away and his brow furrowed in bafflement; Granger was indeed shooting the both of them a penetrating glare of jealousy. Xavier cocked an eyebrow and sneered at her loathingly.

“Theo told me that she does that quite a lot when we aren’t looking,” Xavier informed quietly. “Every time we get House points or get praised for something, she apparently glares at us, but we miss it most of the time.”

A bemused countenance flitted across Ron’s face, and he questioned, “What the hell’s wrong with her, eh? We were just answering the questions Professor Snape asked, that’s all.”

“Beats me,” Xavier responded, and the two looked back at Granger who was now focusing solely on the Potion Master’s words. They exchanged a quick glance before listening to Snape’s words.

The class then proceeded on with Snape instructing them to write down important and valuable notes for future lessons.

Once all of that was completed, Snape announced that they would be making a cure for boils potion and Ron looked quite ecstatic at the opportunity.

"Have you made potions before?" Xavier asked curiously.

"Yeah mate, my brother, Percy, gave me his potion sets and I’ve practised concocting a few," Ron answered truthfully, cracking his fingers.  

“Fair enough. This is my first time," Xavier informed, and underneath his calm, taciturn composure, he too felt a burst of excitement at the prospect.

"Don't worry, I'll help you if you need any aid, but I’m sure you'll get the gist of it easily, mate. You seem to know quite a bit already from what we discussed this morning," Ron encouraged and Xavier nodded.

Snape then began pairing up everyone into pairs and when he reached Xavier and Ron, he pointed out, “I'm going to suggest you both pair with someone else as it would be better to share your knowledge with those who might need it.”

Ron and Xavier agreed and so, Ron ended up pairing with a fellow brunette Slytherin girl named Tracey Davis, while Xavier just went into one of the working stations by himself, accepting anyone who would want to partner with him or chance of getting to work by himself.

Xavier scanned through the instructions of his textbook when he heard a timid voice call out his name. Xavier turned to his left and to his slight surprise, Neville Longbottom stood there with a disquieted expression.  

"Hello, Longbottom," Xavier greeted and though there wasn’t a smile on his face, Neville could tell Xavier was being friendly by his tone. In all honesty, Xavier always believed that there was something more to the paranoid, easily-frightened boy, and only time could tell whether or not he was right.

"Hi, Desmond… are you... are you partnered with anyone?" Neville asked rather tensely, glancing at Professor Snape who was still pairing students together.

"No, not really? Do you have a partner?" Xavier questioned. Neville shook his head.

“I was hoping that maybe… we could be partners?” Neville asked tentatively, going slightly red in the face.  

"Yeah, sure thing, I’ll be your partner,” Xavier responded curtly, and for the first time, Xavier saw Neville’s lips quirk into a relieved smile.

"Thank you, Desmond," Neville said and he quickly joined the dark-skinned boy before Snape could get the chance of pairing him off to someone else.

“Is Harry partnered with someone else?” Xavier asked, and Neville nodded.

“Yeah, he got paired with Hermione Granger,” Neville answered, feeling more eased now.

“You mean the girl who kept trying to answer the questions Professor Snape asked Harry?” Xavier recalled, and Neville nodded with an awkward chuckle. Well, good luck, Harry…

Xavier then glanced at Neville and asked, “Mind if I call you by your first name? You can call me by mine, of course.”

“Yeah, if that’s alright with you,” Neville agreed, smiling a bit more at the sociability of a Slytherin instead of the usual hostility and mocking remarks he received from others.

Neville then traversed to the storage cupboard and accumulated the essential ingredients required for the potion and Xavier began reading the instructions precisely. He wanted to concoct his first ever potion to the best of his ability and to figure where he stood when it came to the art of potion-making.

From what Xavier had observed, Neville was very clumsy and forgetful due to the anxiety that was placed upon him and almost messed up the instructions, but Xavier intended to be patient with him and made sure Neville would be more relaxed and more resourceful with his actions.

After the measurements were set and the ingredients were thrown into the simmering cauldron, Xavier began stirring the potion, while Neville watched silently. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, and Xavier felt a sense of accomplishment as it paid off from all the studying beforehand.

Neville opted to break the silence as he cleared his throat and he started, “Xavier, I forgot to thank you properly for what you did the other day-”

“What else is there to say? You did thank me before, so it’s all good now,” Xavier interjected, and Neville just blinked at him.

“But why? Why did you help me?” Neville queried desperately and it sounded like he had been wanting to ask that question for a while now.

“Well, to be honest, it could have been any student really and I would have helped them. I don’t associate with Malfoy and his goons, nor do I entertain the acts of useless bullying for one’s own enjoyment,” Xavier answered tersely, and Neville blinked at him before nodding slowly in understanding.

“Well, I wanted to thank you again. No one other than Harry has properly stood up for me and I… I appreciate it a lot,” Neville admitted with a small smile.

“Yeah, I believe my friend, Ron Weasley, told me about Harry standing up for you and I guess I’m glad that you two have each other in that regard. But remember what I told you yesterday. You’re already worth more than those three idiots,” Xavier responded truthfully, and he missed Neville’s ever-growing smile.

“Longbottom!” Snape snapped and Neville flinched. “Stop smiling like a buffoon and take over the potion!”

As Neville took over the potion with shaking hands, Xavier studied him and frowned slightly. He really is perturbed by Professor Snape… Maybe I should talk to Harry about conversing with Neville more so he can get comfortable with social situations… in turn, that may help his fear problems simmer down…

Ron Weasley’s P.O.V:

Ron and Tracey waited willingly for Snape to come to inspect their finished potion.

Much to Ron’s luck, Tracey Davis had been an affable girl filled with enthusiasm and humorous, witty comebacks instead of some pure-blood maniac that Ron had dearly hoped she wouldn’t be.

As the two were paired, they began to chat with one another while following the written instructions of the potion, and quite quickly became relaxed with one another. Ron learned that Tracey was in fact a half-blood, as she had a pure-blood father and a Muggle-Born mother, and in turn, she loaded him with questions of his childhood and had always wanted to know how a Weasley had been sorted into Slytherin.  

Needless to say, Ron and Tracey found each other very interesting and the two had bonded over the double Potions lesson, which gave Ron another friend. He could honestly say that he was quite happy with the situation too. It was a refreshing sensation to befriend another Slytherin who didn’t really follow the pure-blood, hardcore Slytherin customs like many others did and the two joked about it quite a lot.

Ron was ripped out of his thoughts as Tracey nudged him when Snape arrived at their table. Their Head of House bent over and began to examine the frothing potion in front of him, while Ron and Tracey waited with bated breath.

He then allowed himself to smirk at Ron and Tracey and commented, “A perfect potion if I might say myself. Well done.”

Ron let out a sigh of relief and Tracey grinned widely as Snape billowed away. To assess other students’ potions.  

“A perfect potion!” Tracey exclaimed and she high-fived Ron who felt his prior apprehension evaporate from his mind. “We smashed it, Ron!”

“Yeah, thank bloody Merlin,” Ron muttered, and Tracey chuckled in agreement.

“Indeed,” Tracey noted, and she smiled curiously at Ron. “Hey, Ron, you should join my study group.”

“What study group?” Ron questioned, cocking an eyebrow at the sudden proposition offered by Tracey.

Tracey noticed Ron’s uneasy look and quickly explained, “Oh, it’s a study group that me and a couple of other Slytherins formed. It consists of Blaise, Theo, Daphne, Millie, Pansy, and yours truly, me!”  

“Pansy Parkinson?” Ron asked uncomfortably, his eyes darting to the pug-faced girl a few stations away.

Tracey sighed and she patted Ron’s arm knowingly. “Look, Ron, I know that she may have hurled remarks and insults like Draco Malfoy at you, but there has always been a sense of falling out for a while now between our group.”

“What do you mean?” Ron inquired out of curiosity, and Tracey sighed once more.

“Well, you see, everyone in our year level from Slytherin, apart from you and Xavier Desmond, all knew each other prior to Hogwarts. I’m more acquainted with Daphne if I was to speak for myself. But even before I was introduced to them, they all used to be a coterie as their parents knew each other and thus, would make their children befriend one another. Malfoy was always the group leader, but I think he did care about his friends more dearly back then. Crabbe and Goyle used to be sweet, awkward boys, but they always stuck to Malfoy as they were both incredibly stupid dullards. Millicent was viewed as the girl equivalent of Crabbe and Goyle, but she was more reserved and quieter because I think they always took the mickey out of her for her weight,” Tracey paused, shooting a sympathetic look to Millicent Bulstrode’s figure nearby. “It definitely ruined her self-esteem, and it took me a while to get her to open up to me.”  

Ron couldn’t help but feel shell-shocked by Tracey’s confession. He had never imagined the other Slytherins to have their own issues and emotions; Ron had clearly underestimated them and felt slightly guilty with himself.

“What about the others?” Ron asked, motioning Tracey to continue.

“Theo and Blaise were much more intelligent to be Malfoy’s cronies like Crabbe and Goyle. Blaise was also more indifferent, aloof, and detached from the rest, but he was more likely to confide in Theo as they were pretty close with each other. Theo was probably the most guile out of the lot and didn’t let anyone walk on him like he was some henchmen,” Tracey apprised with praise as she smiled at Theo’s figure. “And as for Daphne, she developed a colder attitude to ignore the dull times between the group, but she remained allies with each of them as she is the daughter of possibly one of the richest men in the whole of Magical Europe and was taught the ways to gain allies for future purposes.”

“You missed out on Parkinson,” Ron pointed out.  

“Oh, of course. Well, um, how do I say this? Pansy was always… infatuated with Malfoy-”

“You mean she licked his insufferable arse at any given moment that was presented to her?” Ron corrected, and Tracey snorted, smacking Ron’s arm.

“You don’t have to say it like that! But, in essence, yes… she had a crush on Malfoy for quite some time now and it was so evident in the way she tried to be the ‘female leader’ of their group. She would constantly belittle Millie to get Malfoy’s attention and would try to get Daphne out of the picture as she was scared if Malfoy would form a closer connection with Daphne,” Tracey clarified, and Ron rolled his eyes.

“Bloody girls… so what changed?” Ron inquired, feeling more intrigued at where this was going. It was good to have some background knowledge on the other Slytherin first years.

“Well, everyone, apart from Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle, was getting fed up with Malfoy as they grew up. Malfoy started to become more demanding and egotistical amongst them and it didn’t help when I was introduced to them. To keep a long story short, everyone wanted to start fresh and away from Malfoy when Hogwarts began. Even Pansy was starting to see the error of her ways and I think she’s realising that Malfoy never truly cared about her as she did him. Pansy began to hang out with us more and her views on Blood-Purity and whatnot have evaporated. I think it was all just a sham to get Malfoy to like her.”

“Merlin’s beard…” Ron muttered, rubbing his forehead. He never knew that the situation was as it was with Malfoy’s group.

“So, Pansy doesn’t really care about those blood status views? What about you? You’re a half-blood, she doesn’t give you a hard time?” Ron asked, frowning at such thought.

“Aww, you care about me!” Tracey cooed and Ron’s face immediately flushed up.

“Wait, what? No, I meant-” Ron stammered but Tracey’s giggle cut him off.

“I’m only joking, silly. Pansy used to give me a hard time, but I showed her some sense and since then, we’ve been friendly with each other,” Tracey stated, and Ron nodded slowly. A study group, eh? That might be a good idea… the more allies, the better… I’m already on good terms with Theo and Blaise…

“Will they be fine with me joining?” Ron questioned, and Tracey nodded firmly.

“Even though you might feel like they are using you to help them as we have all seen your talent and further knowledge, we have, in truth, wanted to ally with you from the beginning. I believe that Theo and Blaise are already allied with you and Xavier Desmond, am I right? Yeah, they’ve told me some things about you two and believe that the relationship that can be made between all of us will be symbiotic for Slytherin House,” Tracey spoke, and Ron nodded.  

“Fine, I’ll join your study group,” Ron relented, and Tracey smiled joyously.

“Great! And also, try bringing Xavier Desmond with you,” Tracey suggested rather sheepishly. “He’s another person that my friends want to ally themselves with as he also has shown off extensive knowledge. Plus… you know… he’s Xavier Desmond.”  

“Let’s ask him after class,” Ron advised, and Tracey’s emerald-green eyes lit up at the prospect.  

“To those who concocted exceptional potions, I award you five points each to your allocated House. For the rest of you, I recommend you read the instructions more carefully next time,” Snape spoke up. “Class is dismissed.”

Ron and Tracey exited the room among every other student and saw Neville Longbottom shoot Xavier a departing nod before hurrying off.

“Xavier!” Ron called out and Xavier swirled around. When his eyes landed on Ron and Tracey, he approached them with his usual calm and detached demeanour.

“Potions was quite easy,” Xavier admitted, and Ron nodded vigorously.

“Don’t let Professor Snape hear that,” Tracey advised with a light smile, and Xavier’s eyes bored into hers.

“Xavier, this is Tracey Davis. She’s one of the girls in Slytherin from our year,” Ron introduced, giving Xavier some context.

“Desmond. Xavier Desmond. A pleasure to meet you, Tracey Davis,” Xavier greeted, gesturing for her to give him her hand.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that custom with me. I’m not even Pure-Blood,” Tracey assured meekly, but Xavier gave her a look of insistence. Tracey held out her right hand and Xavier planted a kiss on his knuckles, ignoring the fact that Tracey was blushing heavily at his smooth manner.

“Anyway, Tracey wanted to ask if you would like to join her study group,” Ron explained, and Xavier just blinked at the both of them.

“It’s a study group of me, Daphne, Blaise, Theo, Millicent, Pansy, and Ron has joined it now,” Tracey started genuinely, covering the fact that she was still flustered with Xavier’s cool appearance and mannerisms.  

“And we wanted to know if you wanted to join, mate,” Ron finished with a promising smile.

Xavier simply stared at them before rubbing the back of his neck with uncertainty and he replied, “I don’t know. I prefer to study alone if I was being honest with you two.”

“Oh, come on, mate,” Ron beseeched. “We can all help each other out.”

“It’ll be fun and plus, we’re in the library, so we have to be quiet anyway,” Tracey added in with a pleading look. “I know you may be a more secluded kind of guy, but everyone in this study group wants to ally themselves with you and Ron.”  

Xavier said nothing as he considered their words and after a moment, he nodded curtly. Without any change of expression, Xavier joked, “I see that someone has already taken your heart, Ron.”

“What the bloody hell, mate?!” Ron exclaimed as his ears turned redder by the second.

“Don’t be delusional, Xavier, we’ve only just met!” Tracey added in hysterically.

“I’m merely kidding, please, calm yourselves,” Xavier reassured, smirking slightly at their flustered looks. “So what time is this study club?”

“It’s before dinner, so come around five-twenty at least,” Tracey answered giddily, and the two boys nodded.

“Alright then, let’s head off, I’m bloody starving!” Ron exclaimed and his stomach growled. Tracey emitted a laugh, while Xavier just shook his head.

Xavier Desmond’s P.O.V:

Xavier, Ron, and Tracey made their way to the library and as they traversed through the door, Xavier, and Ron both couldn’t help but feel awed, mystified, and stunned at how magnificent the immense library appeared to be.

Madam Pince, the strict and hawk-eyed librarian, went over the firm rules of no noise, no food, no stealing books, and no wandering off to the ‘Restricted Area’ without a signed note, and they all quickly assimilated to her rules.

Tracey excitedly led the two boys over to a table that was dumped with various textbooks and parchment scrolls, covering almost every inch of the table and their fellow Slytherins Housemates sat there, whispering incessantly to each other, and working diligently.  

“Hey guys,” Tracey whispered enthusiastically, and the group turned towards her, Ron, and Xavier.

“Hey, Tracey,” Greengrass replied, making some space for her friend to sit next to her.

“Ron and Xavier have agreed to join the study group,” Tracey smiled in accomplishment. Theo and Blaise nodded firmly sent nods to their allies. On the other hand, Greengrass, Bulstrode, and Parkinson just stared at Ron and Xavier with a mixture of inquisitiveness and open arms.

“It’s a pleasure to properly meet the both of you,” Greengrass greeted quietly, holding her hand. “I’m Greengrass. Daphne Greengrass.”

Xavier took her hand and laid a kiss on her knuckles before replying, “I’m Desmond. Xavier Desmond.”

“Well met, Desmond,” Greengrass nodded with a pleased smile, and she turned to Ron and held out her hand. Ron took hers rather awkwardly and laid a kiss on her knuckles as Xavier had done before introducing himself as Ronald Weasley.

“Praise Salazar, he’s actually learning,” Theo whispered with a smirk, and Ron frowned at him.

“Ignore him, Weasley. Have you finished your History of Magic essay?” She asked, shooting a meaningful look at her own History of Magic essay and Ron nodded strongly. “Can you help me, please?”

“Sure thing, Greengrass,” Ron replied, and she shot him a grateful smile.

Xavier looked at Tracey who was gesturing him to sit down and he pulled out his book on Astronomy that he had bought from Diagon Alley and began reading it from where left it from before. Astronomy had always been an interesting topic to Xavier, especially ever since he saw the unique constellations formed from the far-away stars in the beautiful night sky.

As he read about Jupiter’s huge storm, he could see Blaise’s interested look in the corner of his eye and he then recalled Theo telling him and Ron that Blaise surpassed others at Astronomy.

“Where did you get that book?” Blaise whispered and it was quite weird to see the usually aloof boy look almost passionate.

“Some shop in Diagon Alley,” Xavier replied, and he passed the book to Blaise.

Blaise took it and strolled through the pages and handed it back to Xavier.

“It’s a mystery. Planets, stars, and galaxies… It all makes you wonder about other life out there,” Xavier admitted, and Blaise nodded rather fervently.

“I’ve always pondered over such possibilities as well, to be honest,” Blaise agreed with a thoughtful look.

“You look like you just want to burst out stating facts of Astronomy,” Xavier joked, and Blaise smirked.

“Don’t worry, we’ll see at Astronomy class,” Blaise responded, and the two dark-skinned boys smirked at one another. I don’t doubt that Blaise will be the House points winner when Astronomy rolls around.

“What are you two smirking at?” Greengrass hissed with her arms crossed.

“Nothing, go back to your work, Daphne,” Blaise responded bluntly, and she frowned.

“No need to be so rude,” Greengrass huffed, and Xavier rolled his eyes inwardly.

“What do you want?” Xavier asked and Greengrass’ exasperated look was replaced with a flustered one.

“Just some help,” she mumbled, and Xavier walked over to her. That wasn’t so hard, was it?

Ron was helping Bulstrode and Parkinson out with their essays and they both looked quite appreciative towards the red-haired boy.  

As Xavier read over Greengrass’s essay and corrected some of her mistakes, she stared at him as if he was some sort of exotic animal.

“What’s up?” Xavier asked curtly. She didn’t answer for a few seconds and then cleared her voice.

“How did you learn to do wandless magic?” Greengrass whispered, and Xavier sighed heavily. This again… is wandless magic really that complicated to do?

“Look, I’m not really too sure… but I just did it accidentally when I was younger and ever since then, I’ve kept concentrating on it and I taught some fundamentals of it. I’m no professional, but I think I’ve got the basics of it,” Xavier explained and everyone else shot him admiring nods. It seemed that they were all listening in.

“Alright, Greengrass, I’ve checked over your essay. You’re good to go,” Xavier said, and she shot him a soft smile.

“Thank you. Desmond, you can call me Daphne, if you’d like,” Daphne proposed hesitantly, and Xavier nodded.

“Call me Xavier then,” Xavier replied, and she nodded back.

“I can’t do this spell properly!” Bulstrode suddenly whined and Xavier reached over to her.  

“What’s wrong?” Xavier whispered, and to his surprise, his tone was gentler with Bulstrode. Then again, she looked like she was on the verge of tears.

“I can’t change this match into a needle. I’ve been trying for hours, and it just won’t work,” Bulstrode answered meekly, wiping away tears.

Xavier decided to give her some encouragement and patted her back comfortingly. Xavier then said, “Here, I’ll help you.”

Xavier then went over the proper motion and pronunciation of the incantation with Bulstrode and with good concentration, she smiled widely when she finally succeeded in the task of turning a match into a needle.

“I did it!” Bulstrode exclaimed in a whisper.

“What did I tell you? Patience and concentration were the key,” Xavier reminded, and he couldn’t help but feel a sense of integrity in his soul. It felt nice to help someone out and to see them thrive.  

“Thank you so much. Please, you can call me Millicent or Millie for short,” Millicent approved, and Xavier nodded firmly.  

“That’s fine by me, Millie. Call me Xavier,” he smiled at her, and she looked around breathlessly at the others who all gaped at her. It was obvious that she seemed to be frequently impatient with her wand work, but with Xavier’s help, she had gotten the spell correctly even before some of them.   

Xavier decide to wander off, leaving the group to their own accord and he quietly explored the different sections, looking through books from Magical Creatures to History of Ancient Magical Times.

As he walked further, an audible thud came from behind him, and he whipped around to find a few books that had tumbled out from Hermione Granger’s arms.

Xavier would have felt like a prick if he had ignored this, so he quickly bent down to help the bushy-haired girl.  

“It’s fine, I’ve got this,” Granger whispered stubbornly, but Xavier didn’t oblige.

“Just let me take four,” Xavier reasoned, and she relented reluctantly. They picked up the heavy books and walked over to a table.

“What are you doing with all these books?” Xavier questioned softly, concealing his astonishment.  

“Reading them of course,” Granger answered in a snappish tone. Xavier cocked an eyebrow at her, and a cold expression filled his face.

“Just asking, no need to be rude with me, Granger,” Xavier whispered menacingly, and she flinched slightly before glaring right back at him.

Xavier was about to leave her when her voice interrupted him and whispered, “Wait!”

Xavier faced Granger once more and studied the more upset look plastered on her face. Granger looked at anywhere but Xavier’s eyes and slowly said, “Look, I didn’t mean to come off impolite like that-”

“You don’t say,” Xavier scoffed. “I know that you always glare at either me or my friend, Ron Weasley, every time we answer a question that a professor asks us or when we earn House points. What’s that all about?”

Hermione bit her lip before answering, “I know, and I’m sorry. I should stop that, and I know it’s not neither of your faults, but-”

“Save it, Granger,” Xavier interjected, and a look of hurt flashed across her face. “I don’t need no apologies. Just don’t bother going all that extra glares and whatnot, there’s no use in it. It was never about competition.”

As Xavier backed away, Granger started to look quite desperate and she pleaded, “No, please, stay. I have no one…”

Xavier stared at her emotionlessly, though deep down he was slightly puzzled by her frantic attempts to compromise with him.

“What is that you want, Granger?” Xavier sighed after a moment. Granger bit her lip and looked up at him with contrite eyes.   

“I just… I wanted to prove myself to my new school. I’m Muggle-Born, you see, and before this, I used to attend primary school. I… I didn’t have many friends and when I received my acceptance letter, I promised myself that I try to make some friends here,” Granger began, and Xavier nodded tersely.

“But you’ve already proved yourself, Granger. The professors think you’re the smartest witch in our year and you’re most definitely the cleverest Gryffindor of your year,” Xavier pointed out, ignoring the raging blush on Granger’s cheeks. “I don’t understand all the glaring directed at me and Ron.”

“That…” Granger started, feeling more embarrassed the more she thought about it. “That was just some envious issue, I guess… I forgot that I’m not the only one who studied in advance and would awe the professors. And I’m sorry if I caused you two any discomfort.”

Xavier listened to her heartfelt words and decided to accept her apology and move on. Xavier nodded softly and replied, “It’s alright. I forgive you and I’m sure Ron will too.”

Hermione Granger looked relieved and slightly better by getting things off her chest and Xavier’s eyes scanned over one of the covers of a book titled Hogwarts: A History.

“I definitely need to read that one,” Xavier muttered to himself, but Granger heard him.

“If you’d like, you can read it after I finish it,” Granger suggested timidly.

“Thanks, I would appreciate that,” Xavier whispered, and Granger’s lips quirked into a small smile. “You know, if you’d like, we can study sometime. I find it quite amazing that a Muggle-Born has more knowledge than the majority of the year level who include people who were born into that life.”

“Would you really do that with me?” Granger murmured, her eyes glimmering with disbelief. “Do you really want to study with me?”

“I see no harm in it, Granger,” Xavier commented. “We can compare notes and converse over anything as I also grew up in the Muggle World just like you. You told me before that you had no one and I made a promise to myself before I came here that too I would also try and be more social with others. I see a mutual bond between us.”

“I would love to, Xavier,” Granger replied firmly, no doubt feeling quite pleased with herself. “Oh wait, can I call you Xavier?”

“Only if I can call you Hermione,” Xavier responded, and she nodded strongly. “Then it’s settled. We’ll set up some time and study together, ok?”

“Yes, of course, sure thing, Xavier,” Hermione agreed, her front two teeth showing more clearly. “Thank you for this.”

“Don’t mention it, Hermione,” Xavier reassured serenely and made his way back to his Slytherin allies. They had already vacated the library and Xavier made his way back out. Ron and their allies were awaiting his arrival.

“Why were you talking to Granger?” Daphne interrogated immediately and she looked quite bothered. Excuse me?

“We saw you talking to her,” Tracey explained hastily for context. Xavier’s eyes darted between each of them, and he was quite perplexed when he saw that only Daphne looked irritated.

“I helped her with some of her books and resolved an issue between us,” Xavier replied back, giving Ron a nod who understood immediately. Daphne’s frown, however, widened ever so slightly.

“You shouldn’t be associating with people like her,” Daphne urged with revulsion, and Xavier raised an eyebrow. “It can ruin your reputation if others see you do this.”

Xavier’s cold, dark eyes bored into Daphne’s dark, blue ones, searching for an answer to explain her argument. Ron, on the other hand, seemed to understand what Daphne was interpreting and anger flashed across his face.

“He can talk to whoever he likes!” Ron exclaimed harshly, and Xavier took a quick glance at Theo and Blaise. They both had bored looks plastered on their face, but Xavier could tell that they were ready to placate and prevent anything from occurring if needed.

“You shouldn’t be associating with a Mud… Muggle like her,” Daphne huffed indignantly, and Xavier could tell that she had corrected herself from spewing out an insult since Ron’s fists had balled up tightly and his veins were popping strenuously. Tracey instantly rubbed her hand along Ron’s arm soothingly, trying her best to mollify him and she shot a warning look to Daphne to cease her talking. What was Daphne about to say?

“What were you about to say?” Ron growled, voicing Xavier’s question and the dark-skinned boy felt the temperature drop at the sheer aggression in his red-haired friend’s tone.

“Look, I’m just saying that people like Draco can exploit Xavier for hanging around with people like her. It won’t be a good look, especially since how Xavier is doing so well academically and this kind of thing could ruin his status within Slytherin House,” Daphne sighed, trying to avoid Ron’s question.  

Xavier scoffed, garnering their attention and he stared at Daphne with an ice-cold look. “I don’t know I should appreciate your concern or to take the piss out of your explanation but let’s all get one thing straight; I will never be afraid of a twat like Malfoy nor his two mindless gorillas. My actions determine my consequences, and it would be best not to get coupled in such affairs.”

“Xavier’s right, Daphne,” Theo spoke up after a moment of silence descended upon. “But at the same time, Daphne’s right. If older students saw yourself associating with another member of the House with the blood status of a muggle-born, it would absolutely cause some confrontations and quarrels.”

“For the love of God, I took the opportunity to make her stop glaring at me and Ron in class,” Xavier argued, getting more disinterested with the conversation by the second. “And why would you lot care anyway? We’re not even friends.”

“I was just looking out for you,” Daphne reasoned coolly, her ice queen persona in place. “Take it or leave it, I don’t care.”

“Brilliant, I don’t care,” Xavier remarked indifferently, and he looked between his other allies. “Any more advice you lot would be keen on me to take into consideration?”  

The silence was all Xavier needed and he smirked inwardly. That’s what I thought…

“Don’t forget that you almost used a slur there, Greengrass,” Ron spat out, placing the attention on himself. “Tracey told me that all of you lot wanted to start fresh and away from the bigot, Malfoy. Prove to me that you aren’t like him, and I’ll happily ally myself with you all.”

Before anyone could do anything more, Ron stormed off, ignoring the calls of his fellow Slytherins. Slur? She was about to use a slur against Hermione…

Ron Weasley’s P.O.V:

Ron turned a corner, cursing to himself and cursing the world of such ridiculous beliefs of Blood-Purity and Blood-Status. Ron had grown up into a family where the belief was that everyone was treated equally and with the same respect, no matter where they came from or how different they were. Because in the end, Ron thought everyone was the same in one sense. That was everyone was merely human.  

So, when he had Daphne Greengrass nearly call a student, that she didn’t even acknowledge, a ‘Mud-blood’, Ron had nearly lost it. He thought Tracey had told him that they all didn’t care about such atrocious prejudices. Well, clearly, she was wrong. Maybe it was only Tracey, Theo, and Blaise who didn’t care about those things. Maybe, this Blood-Status prejudice was propagated into Daphne’s blood like that of Malfoy from her parent’s teachings a long time ago. Or maybe, he was wrong about all of them, apart from Xavier, who didn’t give less of a shit to what Daphne had to say to him.

“Ron! Ron, wait up!” came Tracey’s urgent voice, and Ron heard her footsteps, followed by some more echo from behind him. Ron spun around and eased himself when Tracey, Xavier, Theo, and Blaise approached him.

“Hey, Ron, are you alright?” Tracey asked gently, giving Ron a purely apologetic look and he felt more appeased when Tracey talked to him.

“Yeah… I’m just a little pissed off,” Ron admitted absent-mindedly, and Tracey nodded in understanding.  

“I know, it’s ok. I don’t know what’s gotten into her…” Tracey trailed off as her brow furrowed in deep thought. “Maybe it was in the heat of the moment…”

“I was wondering if any of you could tell me what Greengrass was about to say back there,” Xavier requested. Ron looked between Tracey, Theo, and Blaise and sighed deeply.

“Mate, she was about to use a slur called ‘Mud-blood’. It’s a derogatory term used against anyone with Muggle percentage in their blood. A real filthy word,” Ron explained, his nose wrinkling in repugnance of the word.  

“I see…” Xavier spoke softly, stroking his chin. “Any other slurs I need to know of?”

“Well, there is ‘filthy half-blood’,” Tracey pointed out, her tone disheartening. “It’s used against anyone who is half-blood.”

“And then there’s ‘filthy half-breed’,” Theo spoke up, his fingers coiling his curly hair. “A slur used against those who may have a mix of Magical species as parents or down their lineage.”  

“Tracey… I thought you told me that Greengrass didn’t care about that kind of stuff,” Ron noted, a look of hurt plastered on his face. “Merlin knows what she probably thinks of me as I’m a blood-traitor. I can’t associate with people who look down upon me like that.”

“No, Ron, please, I know what I said, and I stay true to it,” Tracey replied firmly. “Daphne has never cared about such things before as she values true allies. She has never called me out for my Blood-Status, ever.”

“Whatever you say, Tracey,” Ron mumbled, and Tracey smiled sadly.

“Look, she just wanted to advise Xavier on the possible actions that could tarnish his name within Slytherin House,” Theo defended.

“Her almost bringing up a slur is her problem and I’m sure Tracey will deal with it, won’t you, Trace?” Blaise added in calmly, looking directly at Tracey.

“Of course, Blaise, I will talk to her before dinner starts,” Tracey nodded firmly.

“Which begins soon,” Theo declared, glancing at his wristwatch. “I say we boys go to the Great Hall, while the girls figure out what’s up with Daphne.”

“Sounds good to me,” Ron agreed, while Blaise and Xavier nodded curtly. “Let’s go.”

Dinner had been an uncomfortable affair since normal Ron, Xavier, Theo, and Blaise normally sat and ate together, but Tracey and the girls had opted to join them for this first time and there was already tension hanging over their heads.

Daphne looked guilty of her words, which was most evident in her facial expression throughout dinner. She had apologised remorsefully to Xavier for the unannounced confrontation and to Ron over the near use of a slur. Both boys had accepted it and Daphne just consumed her food quietly while everyone else conversed with one another.  

Once dinner was over, they headed off to the Astronomy Tower, where a rather beautiful, dark-skinned professor welcomed them and began her lesson, reciting stories of the different points of views from several cultures and groups around the world centuries ago of how their outlooks were formed from observing the night sky. As always, she asked her class to answer basic questions of Astronomy, and Blaise, staying true to his word, had come out on top, earning twenty-five House points.

Astronomy had finally finished, and they all tiredly marched back to their common room. They had entered through the entrance door when Malfoy’s pompous voice called out, “Stop right there!”

Ron and his allies swivelled their heads and he groaned in annoyance when Malfoy strutted up to them, flanked by his two lackeys.

“Pansy!” Malfoy snapped and Pansy’s eyes widened while the girls stepped in front of her, shielding her from Malfoy. “What are you doing? Why are you hanging out with them?”

“Draco, it’s been a tiring night,” Blaise started firmly. “Let’s all resolve this another time, shall we?”

“This doesn’t involve you, Blaise,” Malfoy spat out. “You and Theo have already made an alliance with the blood-traitor.”

“There’s no need to speak like that, Malfoy,” Theo piped in, while Blaise frowned at the platinum-haired twat. “Ron has proven himself to be extremely efficient and not even a fool can deny that Ron is a valuable ally.”

“Ron? Ron?!” Malfoy splattered, his eyes widened in incredulity. “You call this filthy blood-traitor by his first name?!”

“Shut your bloody mouth, Malfoy,” Ron snarled venomously, his exhaustion forgotten. “Fucking prick.”

Malfoy opted to ignore Ron this time and he turned back to Pansy, who was hidden by Daphne, Tracey, and Millie. “Pansy, do you want to be like these lot and join alliances with the blood-traitor?!”

“She has made her choice, Draco,” Daphne defended adamantly.

“I’m sure she can speak for herself,” Malfoy scoffed, and Pansy then made her way to the front of the girls with a resolute look.

“I don’t like who I am around you, Draco. I haven’t in a long time, and I want that to change. If you want to stay like this, then I don’t want to be any part of it anymore,” Pansy stated firmly, and Ron felt that he had found a new admiration for the pug-faced girl. She had apologised to Ron persistently throughout their time studying in the library and Ron could tell that she was sincere with her words. It was odd seeing the girl’s whole demeanour do a one-eighty, but Ron gladly accepted her recognition of her faults. “The same goes for the rest of my friends here.”

“And why’s that?!” Malfoy asked, his eyes glimmering with anger and hurt.

“Come on now, Draco, I never took you to be idiotic,” Theo replied with a smirk. “All you have ever done is boss us around. Maybe Crabbe and Goyle here are fine with it, but we sure aren’t. Both Ron and Xavier here are true allies. They help us and we help them. That’s how it should be. Slytherin united as we need it more than the Houses and you know it.” Hmm, they all really wanted to be allies with me and Xavier… to start anew… That’s quite… optimistic, really.

“And it’s not too late to fix everything, Draco,” Blaise jumped in with Theo’s statement. “We can all reconcile and be the best of allies. It will be mutually beneficial for our House.”

Malfoy looked lost for words. He was taking their words into account, but the mere thought of allying with a Weasley clouded his judgement. “How is this blood-traitor a useful ally? Your families would be appalled if they knew who you were aligning yourselves with!”  

“Speak for yourself, Draco,” Daphne huffed in exasperation. “My parents aren’t like that!”  

“Don’t talk about Ron like that either!” Millie growled; her loyalty was now pledged to Ron. He had been a generous and kind person to her, something she rarely ever received, even in the past by her own friends. Millie also appreciated Xavier and had decided to remain allies with him from the moment he aided her in switching a match into a needle.

“Shut up, Millicent, no one asked you to speak,” Malfoy sneered, and Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles threateningly. Ron felt that his blood was starting to boil, and he cracked his neck vindictively. I see why these guys wanted to ditch this cunt. He doesn’t even know the meaning of friendship!

An uncomfortable silence fell between the Slytherin first-years. Malfoy was fuming, Crabbe and Goyle looked hungry for a brawl, Theo and Blaise had a defeated glint of ire in their expression, and the girls were all grouped together, scorning the growing tension. As for Ron and Xavier, they observed the whole situation like two bystanders even though they were correlated to this ordeal.

Tracey then took a deep breath and smiled softly as she took a step forward to placate things. “Look Draco, I understand you’re frustrated and-”

“I didn’t ask you either, you filthy half-blood!” Malfoy spat out in disgust and Tracey stepped back in surprise, a look of hurtful insecurity evident in her countenance. Gasps and insults emanated throughout the room, but Ron’s ears were blocked off. His mind went blank. All he could see was red. Bloody, infuriating red. Without another thought, Ron stormed up to Malfoy and connected his fist with the shocked boy’s jaw.

“YOU FUCKING CUNT, TAKE THAT BACK!” Ron bellowed, swinging his fist once again, and Malfoy cried out in agony.

“Ron, NO!” Theo yelled, while Millie quickly gripped Ron’s arms, holding him back, which was hard as Ron was blinded by fury, and thus, it was getting harder for her to restrain him.

“Back away,” Blaise warned patronisingly as Crabbe and Goyle got ready to retaliate, and Xavier slipped in front of them, glaring abhorrently as they cowered away from him.   

“APOLOGISE TO HER!” Ron vociferated, struggling to strike Malfoy as Millie pulled him back away.   

“Ron, leave it!” Tracey cried beseechingly as Ron landed a kick on Malfoy’s ribs. “Please, just leave it!”

As Millie dragged a battling Ron away, his eyes landed on Xavier who towered over Malfoy’s curled-up figure.

“Xavier, leave him, there’s no more use,” Theo hissed, placing a hand on the dark-skinned boy’s shoulder.

“Least make him apologise,” Xavier snarled, his reticent demeanour forgotten.

“He would rather die,” Blaise scowled, shaking his head in disappointment.

Crabbe and Goyle picked up Malfoy simultaneously and the injured boy gazed at his ex-friends with a betrayed glare. “You traitors!” Malfoy yelled as he began to storm off with his cronies. “My father will hear about this!”

“Yeah, that’s right, piss off you prick!” Ron snapped spitefully. As Malfoy and his two lackeys disappeared, Ron groaned involuntarily when his fist throbbed painfully.  

“Ron…” Daphne muttered, her eyes widened severely. “What have you done?”

“Don’t you dare reprimand him, Daph! None of you stood up for me except for him and Xavier. Not even you, Daphne…” Tracey sniffled, tears cascading down her cheeks and she took off running to her Dorm.

“Tracey, wait!” Daphne cried and she quickly followed after her.

“You’ll need to get that checked,” Theo suggested coolly, inspecting Ron’s sore fist. “That was one hell of a right hook, I’ll give you that much.”

Ron was simply dumbfounded. “Wait, you lot aren’t angry?”

“We tried to get Malfoy to join us,” Blaise sighed, rubbing his forehead with a bored look. “He didn’t comply, so that’s the end of that.”

“Ron, are you alright?” Millie questioned, and Ron nodded tiredly.

“Just really tired, and my hand is aching,” Ron answered softly, and he presented her with a small smile. “Thanks… you know, for holding me back there, Millie… I hope I didn’t accidentally hurt you in the process.”

“It’s no problem, Ron, and no you didn’t injure me or anything,” Millie chuckled. “Though, it was a challenge to pull you back.”

“I might have nightmares over what would have happened if Millie didn’t step in to pull Ron back,” Theo joked, effectively lightening the mood and he received chuckles from everyone, save Pansy and Xavier. The dark-skinned boy just stood by with his arms crossed, immersed in deep thought. Pansy, however, was sniffling to herself and wiping away tears ceaselessly.

“Pansy, are you ok?” Millie questioned, and Pansy nodded shakily.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine, Mills,” Pansy whimpered, and Millie walked up to the quivering girl and wrapped an arm around her comfortingly. Ron, Theo, and Blaise all exchanged awkward looks. “I just hope that maybe… maybe, Draco comes around one day…” Yeah, I hope so, too…

“One can only hope, Pansy,” Theo commented with a sigh. “Until then, we’ll stay where we are, and he’ll stay where he wants. In the end, time will tell whose decision came out more successful.”

“Ugh, you lot are so weird,” Ron muttered, rolling his eyes. “Always sounding so formal and whatnot.”

“You’ve still got a long way to go, lad,” Theo replied with a grin, and Ron frowned heavily. “Your profanity is something you must get under control.”

Footsteps nearby caused Ron and the others to swivel their heads, and they watched as Tracey and Daphne re-joined them. Daphne was rubbing her hands up along Tracey’s shoulders pacifyingly and the brunette seemed a bit better.

“How are you feeling, Trace?” Xavier asked, his voice finally entering the conversation as he strode over to them.

“I feel better, don’t worry,” Tracey responded, her cheeks turning rosy. Without warning, she engulfed both Ron and Xavier into hugs and released them with a sheepish smile. “Thank you for standing up to me. Especially you, Ron. You really didn’t have to punch Malfoy like that for me.”

“He deserved it, Tracey, and you know it too,” Ron grinned, and Tracey giggled as she rubbed her eyes.

Right at that moment, the Slytherin Common Room door swung open, and a furious Professor Snape strolled in, approaching them. Oh, shite!

“Mr. Malfoy has just come to me and recounted a story that you, Mr. Weasley, assaulted him. Explain yourself,” Snape demanded severely.

“He’s lying, sir,” Pansy spoke up for Ron and she looked quite irate for the first time. “He was angry that I wasn’t hanging out with him anymore, and he called Ron a blood-traitor several times, while Theo and Blaise tried to calm him down and to convince him to be a part of our group. Tracey tried to defuse the situation further, but Malfoy called her a ‘filthy half-blood’, sir.”

“Is that so?” Snape questioned as his eyes flashed with vexation. The whole group nodded vigorously in confirmation of what Pansy had stated.

“And there was no retaliation to his remark?” Snape inquired softly. “I recall seeing his jaw dripping with blood.” Oh no… I’ve got to tell him-

“It was all me, sir,” Xavier admitted after no one answered the Potion Master’s question. What is he doing?! 

“After he called Tracey those words, I… I lost control of my temper and I launched at him and attacked him. It was all me, and my friends tried to stop me. luckily, they did,” Xavier explained thoroughly, his face devoid of any emotions that would lead to Snape believing that he was outright lying through his teeth. Everyone masked their bewildered looks under innocent stares.

“I’ve already warned you in the past, Mr. Desmond. And now, you’ve gone one step further and initiated a hand-to-hand combat session with my godson,” Snape started slowly, his eyes piercing through Xavier’s soul. “Ten points from Slytherin for your foolish actions and you’ll have detention with me tomorrow night, is that understood?”  

Xavier nodded tersely, while Ron and the others all clenched their teeth to not protest.

“Don’t let me hear that you’ve commenced such reckless acts again,” Snape berated harshly, and he then wheeled around and billowed out of sight.

“Why did you do that?!” Ron exclaimed the second Snape disappeared from the common room.  

“Because if we both got in trouble, then more points would have been lost plus, I just saved your reputation there as well. I’m also pretty sure your parents don’t want to hear that you were involved in attacking a student in the first week of school,” Xavier justified strongly, and Ron, along with Tracey, Theo, and Millie’s mouths were slightly ajar in befuddlement.  

“I… thanks, mate, you really didn’t have to do that at all,” Ron stammered, feeling quite speechless at Xavier’s selflessness. “I owe you one.”

“No need,” Xavier reassured, and he started walking towards his dorm. “I’m going to retire for the night.”

“Xavier,” Pansy suddenly called out softly, and the dark-skinned boy froze in his place. “You can call me Pansy.”

Xavier didn’t respond. Instead, he stood there for a few seconds before proceeding to his Dorm wordlessly.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Theo mumbled, yawning to himself.

“He just took the fall for me,” Ron pointed out incredulously.

“One day, I’m going to solve what goes through his mind,” Tracey added in with a thoughtful smile. I highly doubt that, Trace…