The following days seemed to pass in a blur, and by the following Thursday Malfoy had re-joined classes, as he entered halfway through the double Potions that Gryffindor shared with Slytherin.
Nathaniel watched him cautiously as he entered the classroom, in case Malfoy decided to come and annoy him and Hermione. However, Malfoy had decided to join Harry and Ron, clearly wanting to rile them up, and for this he was thankful. Nathaniel didn't really want to get detention just yet, which he was sure would happen if Malfoy decided to antagonise him or Hermione.
As the class progressed, Nathaniel was happy that Hermione was helping Neville Longbottom to fix his potion, which had previously been a vibrant orange instead of the acidic green colour that the Shrinking Solution they were making was supposed to be. This was simply because Nathaniel already had a basic idea of Professor Snape's lack of tolerance towards Gryffindors, and his evident favouritism towards Slytherins, just from the few interactions he'd had with Snape in the corridors.
By the time class had finished, Nathaniel's potion was nearly the correct shade of green, despite being just a couple shades darker. He then looked at the contents of Hermione's cauldron. "Impressive Hermione." He'd say, smiling as he saw that hers was absolutely perfect, despite her attention being divided between her own potion and helping Neville fix his, which Nathaniel was glad to see was now a shade of green somewhat resembling the correct one. He watched with bated breath as Snape dropped a few drops of the potion onto Neville's toad, and clapped with the other Gryffindors when Trevor the toad managed to shrink into a tadpole.
"Five points from Gryffindor." Snape said. "You were forbidden from helping him Miss Granger. Class dismissed."
Nathaniel grabbed his things and walked out of the classroom with Hermione, on the way to lunch. "That was unbelievable... I think what you did was great though, in all honesty Hermione." He'd turn to look at her as they climbed the stairs, but realised she wasn't there. "Hermione..?" He then saw her at the bottom of the stairs again, hurriedly tucking something down the front of her robes. He waited for her to catch up. "You ok?"
"Yeah, I forgot something. Sorry..." She'd half-smile at him, apologetically. "Let's just get to lunch. I don't want to be late for Professor Lupin's first lesson!" A series of loud thuds then distracted them, and they saw that Hermione's bag had split, with several large books falling out and hitting the floor.
Nathaniel would immediately start picking up some of the books, before putting them in his bag. "I'll carry some of them for now, ok? It'll make things easier for you.." He'd smile and hold the rest of her books while she fixed her bag.
"Thanks Nate.." Hermione would take the other books from him and put them back in her bag. The pair would walk in silence back to the Great Hall and sat down in their usual seats, at the end of the table. The pair ate lunch in silence, although Nathaniel kept catching Hermione glancing at him out of the corner of his eye.
After lunch, they got up and left the Hall, on their way to Defence Against the Dark Arts. By the time they reached the classroom, it seemed like they were the only ones there.
"When's your birthday Nate?" Hermione blurted out, instantly going red. "Sorry.. It's just, I've been trying to work how old you are for a while, and I honestly don't have a clue..."
"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours." He'd smile calmly. "I'm obviously not much older or younger than you Hermione. I'm nowhere near talented enough to put in a year above what I'm supposed to be in..."
"O-Ok... Mine's the 19th of September... I don't expect you to remember though.." Hermione said quietly. "Nor do I expect anything either." She added as an afterthought.
"I promise I wont forget Hermione. I have a surprisingly good memory on things like that. Mine's the 2nd of October." Nathaniel would shrug casually. "So, unless you were moved up a year, which wouldn't surprise me with your talent, that makes you older than me Miss Granger." He'd smile at her playfully. "Oh, and I refuse to let you get me anything either. Having you as a friend is more than enough."
She'd blush slightly and look shocked. "T-Thanks Nate..." She'd get up and hug him quickly, before backing away, clearly embarrassed.
Nathaniel would also go slightly red. "So, uhhh... Do you.. Do you know why Ron's jealous of you hanging around with me..?" He'd try and change the topic before other people arrived.
"To be honest, no.... Not really.. Maybe he thinks you'll hurt me or something.. I mean, he doesn't have any reason to be as suspicious or possessive as he is, right? You're not gonna hurt me are you Nate..? And it's not like we were together or anything, I mean I told you about what happened in our first year right?" Hermione would look at Nathaniel.
"Why would I do that? Of course I'm not going to hurt you Hermione. And with the troll? Yeah, you've said. Honestly, I'd be kinda surprised if you got with him after something like that... Not that it's any of my business." He'd say hurriedly.
"It's strange though... You've been way nicer to me in just the week or so that you've been here, than he has in two entire years... And yet he still seems to think he has a chance with me?" Hermione would sigh, and lean against the wall beside Nathaniel as everyone else arrived for lesson. She'd look at the other people, and would see several pairs pointing to, and whispering about, her and Nate. "Y'know... I think people have been getting the wrong idea of us leaving meals together as early as we do Nate..."
Nathaniel would also be looking at the others. "I think you might be right about that Hermione... Let them think what they want, it's none of their business what we do.." He'd pick up his bag and follow Hermione into the classroom.
After they had entered the classroom, Hermione took a desk in the far corner, with Nathaniel taking the one next to her. He vaguely paid attention when Ron and Harry took the seats on his other side. He knew why Hermione had chosen those desks... She clearly didn't want to deal with Ron any more than was necessary, especially with the recent hostility between them...
Lupin entered the classroom a few minutes after all the students had arrived, and most had already gotten out their books. "Would you all put your books away please? We will be having a practical lesson today. You will only need your wands." He said calmly.
Nathaniel and Hermione didn't need to put anything away, as Lupin had seen them the previous day and told them that they'd be having a practical lesson, so the pair simply got up and waited with Lupin by the door for everyone else to get ready. Soon, the class was gathered around, ready to go.
Lupin led them out of the classroom and through several corridors to reach the staff room, only stopping momentarily to jinx Peeves, the Hogwarts poltergeist, using the Waddiwasi spell which caused a wad of chewing gum to shoot up Peeves' nose, sending him away.
As they entered the staff room, a long room with wood panelled walls with mismatched armchairs scattered around it, Professor Snape left the room, but not without taking another jab at the Gryffindors. "Perhaps you haven't been made aware, Lupin. But this class contains Neville Longbottom. You shouldn't trust him to do anything difficult, unless Miss Granger is giving him instructions."
"Actually, I was hoping Neville could assist me with the start of this practical. And I'm sure he'll perform admirably." Lupin said, with a raised eyebrow at Snape's comment. He then walked over to a wardrobe at the other end of the room, once Snape slammed the door behind him. The wardrobe immediately began to shake, banging off of the wall. "It's just a Boggart. Nothing to worry about." Lupin seemingly ignored the looks of terror that passed through most of the class. "They tend to prefer dark, enclosed spaces such as wardrobes, or even the gaps beneath beds. I've actually found one that was lodged in a grandfather clock before. This one actually moved in yesterday, and I asked Professor Dumbledore to leave it, so you can have some practice. But the first question we should ask is, what is a Boggart?"
Hermione instantly put up her hand. "It's a shape-shifter sir. It takes the form of whatever it thinks will scare us the most."
"A perfect description Hermione, couldn't have put it better myself." Remus said, as Hermione beamed in appreciation. "Therefore, this Boggart wont have assumed a form just yet, as he doesn't know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Consequently, nobody knows a Boggart's true shape, but it will change to embody what each of us fears most when I let him out." He'd look over the class. "This means that we will have a huge advantage over the Boggart. Can you tell me why Harry?"
Hermione was practically bouncing on the spot, as she already knew the answer. But Harry gave it a go, trying to focus on what he had just heard. "It wont know what shape it should be as there's so many of us..?"
"Exactly. It's usually suggested to have company when dealing with Boggarts, as they become confused. I've seen one try to turn into both a headless corpse and a flesh-eating slug. The result was half a slug... Nowhere near terrifying. However, the charm used to repel a Boggart is simple, although it requires force of mind, because the one thing that truly finishes a Boggart is laughter. So we need to force it to assume a shape that we find amusing. However, we will practice the charm without wands first. After me. Riddikulus." Lupin said.
"Riddikulus!" The whole class chorused back to him.
"Very good, very good." Remus said. "However, I'm afraid that was just the easy part. The word alone is not enough, you see. And that's where you all come in."
Nathaniel listened as Neville explained his fear, and Remus explained what he should do. When asked to imagine his worst fear, and a way to make it comical, Nathaniel immediately thought of a failed Animagus transformation, and he knew he wouldn't be able to make that seem comical in any way...
After a few minutes, Lupin made them all move back and let Neville deal with the Boggart. Nathaniel watched as the wardrobe opened and Snape stepped out, before Neville managed to turn the Boggart into a Snape wearing his grandmother's clothes, to a roar of laughter from the rest of the class.
One after the other, the other members of the class were called up to practice on the Boggart. Eventually it was Nathaniel's turn. He cautiously stepped forwards...
The Boggart immediately turned into what appeared to be a half-animal, half-person hybrid. But then it changed again, almost instantly, into a hooded and masked figure wearing dark robes being bathed in a sickly green light. Something he'd just heard about from stories told to him by his parents... A Death Eater that had just committed a murder...
Nathaniel thought as hard as he could and waved his wand as Lupin had shown, and just as the Death Eater was about to curse him, their wand flew out of the hand and they Stunned themselves. He'd done it. Nathaniel had managed to use non-verbal magic against the Boggart. He stepped back shakily, aware that a few people were watching him.
Just as Harry was about to step up, he was blocked by Remus. Nathaniel knew what to expect, as the Boggart changed into a silvery white orb floating in front of Remus, who flicked his wand lazy, and the orb became a balloon that flew about the room.
Neville was up again, and everyone had a split-second view of Snape wearing a dress before Neville laughed, and the Boggart exploded into a thousand wisps of smoke.
"Excellent!" Lupin cried out. "I believe that's 5 points to Gryffindor for everyone who tackled the Boggart. A ten for Neville as he did it twice, and ten to Nathaniel for displaying control. Let's see... Five each to Harry and Hermione as well, for answering my questions at the start." Lupin smiled at the class. "An excellent lesson everyone. Now for homework, please read the Boggarts chapter in the book and summarise it for me. That is to be handed in on Monday. That will be all."
As everyone made to leave the staff room, Nathaniel found himself blocked by Remus, with Hermione also waiting behind for him. "Very good Nate... Non-verbal magic, and not to mention hiding your true fear... I think that deserves an extra 5 points to Gryffindor." Lupin said.
Nathaniel would smile. "Thanks Professor... It's not easy.. I wasn't actually sure it'd work to be honest.." He'd shrug and look at the floor. "I hope I don't end up like that though..."
"You won't.. I'll be helping you once your father's given you permission." Lupin would smile encouragingly.
Nathaniel, however, went extremely pale. "I haven't written to them yet to ask, or anything... They're probably worried.. I'll have to do it tonight and send it tomorrow!"
"Good choice Nate." Remus said.
"I'll help you, if that's ok?" Hermione would offer, before looking away, slightly red.
"That'd be great! Thanks Hermione." Nathaniel would smile at her. "Umm.. Not to be rude, but could you give us a couple minutes alone? I'll catch up with you, promise." Hermione would nod and smile, before leaving the room and walking slowly back to the classroom.
"What was that about Nate..? I thought she was your friend.. I mean, whatever you have to say, I doubt she'll think any less of you..." Remus would inquire.
"It's several things really... One, Hogsmeade slip please..? I forgot last time... And also, do you think it's safe revealing your fear like that? I mean, you know how smart Hermione is... It won't take her long to figure things out Remus..." Nathaniel would say warningly. "Also, may I have a list of decent Defence books please..?"
"Oh, sure thing." Remus would pull some scraps of parchment out of pocket, before signing one and writing a list on the other. "And if she does figure it out Nate, I'm sure I can rely on you to make her keep it a secret... May I ask what the books are for?"
"You can trust me Remus.. And just some extracurricular reading mainly..." Nathaniel would shrug and take the bits of parchment. "Thanks! I'll see you later Remus!" He'd leave the room and sprint off down the corridor towards Hermione.
He caught up with her outside the classroom, where she was talking with Harry and Ron about the lesson, whilst holding his bag as well as hers. "I wish I could have had a go with the Boggart though..." She said, causing Ron to laugh loudly.
"What would it have been for you then?" Ron would say, still laughing. "A piece of homework that only got 9 out of 10?" This comment would make Nathaniel bristle with anger, as he saw Hermione look crestfallen that she wasn't being taken seriously...
He'd draw his wand and approach them, glad there was no teachers around. "Would you just lay off of her for five minutes!?" Nathaniel would half-yell, pointing his wand straight at Ron. "If this is how you treat your friends, then I'm glad you hate me. A hatred that is entirely unfounded I might add."
"I don't treat my friends badly though...." Ron would say, confused.
"Oh, just Hermione then? I suppose you think that makes it so much better don't you? Well you're wrong." Nathaniel's voice would be pure venom. "You don't know anything about Hermione or how hard she works so that she doesn't feel left behind! But I do. In fact, I help her with her work every single night, and we actually talk about our personal lives as well. I know for a fact that neither of you can truly say the same..." Nathaniel would pick up his bag and walk off, still seething.
He would hear footsteps running up to him and see Hermione out of the corner of his eye. "I'm sorry... I think I went a bit too far... I'll understand if you don't want to hang around with me anymore... I just thought they should be told, and perhaps they'll start being better friends now...." He'd look at the floor as he walked.
"You really are an idiot sometimes Mister Banneker..." Hermione would sigh as she walked with Nathaniel. "So what if you went too far? At least you stood up for me.. That's more than Harry's done when Ron's been saying things like that.. And so what if they try and be better friends now? It doesn't change the fact that you've already done way more for me than they would do in a long time..." She'd smile and grab his hand. "Now come on, cheer up and come get some dinner with me. After all, we've got a letter to write later!"