"Hehe, that's Hermione for you—curious about everything."
Ariana leaned toward Tom and whispered,
"Compared with Gryffindor, I think she'd make a better Ravenclaw. Still, she's a really good friend. This morning, she spent ages catching me up on last Monday's lesson—so prim and proper, like a miniature adult~"
"Ariana! I can hear you!"
Hermione's indignant voice came from nearby.
"But I'm only telling the truth~" Ariana replied, blinking innocently.
"And I heard everything. Lavender was complaining to Parvati about you, saying Hermione's 'just like a little McGonagall.' By the way, is the McGonagall they mean Professor McGonagall?"
"Hmph, people who only know how to gossip behind others' backs," Hermione muttered, pursing her lips in an attempt to look unconcerned.
"With the time they spend slandering people, I could memorize several more facts!"
Despite her words, Hermione's slightly reddened eyes betrayed her emotions.
Seeing this, Ariana—who had started it all—shot Tom an awkward, silent plea. After only one night, she already had her three roommates figured out.
Parvati and Lavender were easy: different personalities but both lively and approachable. Hermione—stubborn, obstinate, sensitive, insecure, a little hedgehog with her spines raised, lonely and standoffish—reminded Ariana of her former self. That was why she had befriended Hermione first.
Her earlier words weren't meant to drive a wedge between them; she had only hoped Hermione would reflect, open up, and face others' opinions calmly. But the outcome had been the opposite, and as the instigator, Ariana had no way to soothe Hermione's sensitive heart.
'Sigh…'
Reading Ariana's look, Tom sighed, reached out, hesitated, then placed Hermione's hand on his paw-pad. Head-pats were his bottom line, but paw-pads… that was his good deed for the day.
Hermione blinked in surprise.
Her tear-blurred gaze met Tom's smiling face. Noon sunlight streamed through the Great Hall windows, haloing the blue Cat in soft light and giving Tom an almost holy, sacred air.
There, don't cry.
"I—I'm not crying!" Hermione said, hurriedly wiping the corners of her eyes and forcing a calm expression—if one ignored the fact that she was still kneading Tom's paw-pad.
Seeing Hermione's emotions stabilize, Ariana exhaled in relief and shot Tom a grateful glance. She resolved to raid her brother's stash later for anything useful to Tom.
He'll forgive me, probably? (￣︶￣)
Just then, a lively voice called out nearby:
"Ah! Tom, so you're here!"
Tom looked up. It was Hannah. Hermione reluctantly released Tom's paw-pad, quickly dried her tears, and tried to pretend nothing had happened.
Hannah jogged over and sat beside Tom, paying no mind to the Gryffindor table.
"How'd you end up here? I searched our table for ages; finally Neville told me you were with the Gryffindors."
"By the way, what did Professor Snape keep you for? He didn't give you a hard time, did he?"
Of course not!
Tom puffed out his chest proudly, grabbed a glass of milk, and drained it.
I'm a Potion genius; Snape appreciates my talent and has exempted me from all future Potion Class homework.
"No homework? I'm so jealous!" Hannah said, eyes sparkling. To a young wizard, foot-long essays were scarier than Voldemort himself.
The next second, she noticed something and exclaimed,
"Wait, Tom—Cats can't drink milk! It'll give you diarrhea!"
Tom froze, slowly looked at the empty glass, and felt the familiar churn in his stomach.
"Hehe, I did my homework this time!"
Hannah counted on her fingers,
"Ever since the train incident, I memorized every food Cats must avoid! No milk, no onions, no raw dough or meat, no chocolate, no grapes…"
Stop, stop, stop! Tom interrupted, knowing if he let her continue, he'd never eat in peace again.
Other Cats are lactose-intolerant, but I'm immune! he thought, as the turmoil in his gut subsided. At least he wouldn't explode here.
Besides, I'm no ordinary Cat—my diet's different! Remember, I'm a magic Cat~
In truth, Tom only vaguely remembered which foods were toxic to Cats. But in his case, ignorance was bliss. As long as he didn't believe a food was poisonous, he could eat it. For a gag character, ignoring common sense was standard.
"Oh… I see…" Hannah's shoulders drooped in disappointment—she'd wanted to show off her week's efforts.
"Hi there~" Ariana slid closer to Hannah.
"I'm Ariana, and this is Hermione. Nice to meet you! Are you Tom's friend too? He's one of my few friends."
"Can we be friends?" Hannah's head snapped up. Hearing "Tom is one of my few friends" instantly shifted her focus. Such a cute girl had almost no friends? Poor thing! Luckily, as a little badger, she loved making new friends. She thrust out her hand at once.
"I'm Hannah Abbott, pleased to meet you—I'd love to be your friend."
"Hehe, then we're friends now~ But let's skip the handshake." Ariana's smile dimmed; besides Tom, she couldn't touch other living beings. But the sadness lasted only seconds. Compared to her past, this was nothing.
Thanks to Ariana's lubricating presence, the three girls (plus one Cat) quickly warmed to one another. Even Hermione set aside her usual pride and regained some liveliness proper to her age.
Yet as they chatted animatedly, two figures approached.
"Er… excuse me?"
Harry stood awkwardly beside the table, with Ron behind him wearing an 'I'm doomed' expression.
They'd come to copy Hermione's afternoon Potion Class homework. But from the looks of things… this might not be the best time.
FOR MORE CHAPTERS
patreon.com/Tonystarc961