Julian helped his classmates as much as he could, quietly correcting wands, angles, and pronunciations. Even the Slytherins, who would rather swallow their own tongues than say thank you, grudgingly benefited from his guidance.
Malfoy, however, continued to behave like an irritating peacock, making himself a nuisance at every opportunity.
By that point, Julian decided it was time to unleash a particular brand of chaos on him, the kind only known as the Weasley twins.
He brought this on himself by not learning the first few times, Julian thought with a weary sigh as he made up his mind.
Very few people truly understood the scale of devastation those two could manage if given a clear target. The twins knew exactly how far they could push a joke before it stopped being a prank and tipped over into bullying, and they rarely crossed that line.
Some people, however, like Draco Malfoy, were so insufferably entitled and arrogant that even the harmless sort of prank felt unbearable.
And as it happened, Julian was currently on very good terms with Fred and George, even if they still owed him a solid prank for the way he had woken them up the other day.
He had no doubt they were planning something to get him back, but they had been observant enough not to hit him with it while he was clearly struggling with his emotions.
...
After Charms, lunchtime rolled around. Julian ate a lighter meal than usual, then headed off to Potions with his friends.
Today's brew was the Wiggenweld Potion. Julian followed the instructions calmly and produced a perfect bottle, earning himself a small vial to keep, according to Snape's rare but strict standard of reward.
Everyone else, unfortunately, was not so lucky.
Those who did not achieve perfection were assigned a foot of homework on the potion instead, which was met with a chorus of groans and long suffering faces.
"So, what are you doing with the rest of today?" Tracy asked once class had ended. "Running off to that workshop of yours again?"
"As appealing as the thought of hammering metal sounds, I was actually planning to just relax this afternoon," Julian replied in a casual tone.
"Brilliant!" Ron broke in, eyes lighting up. "I picked up some Every Flavor Beans over the weekend. We can play Blind Man's Luck!"
He bolted off toward the Gryffindor common room before anyone could respond.
"What is Blind Man's Luck?" Daphne asked, curious.
"It is a game I made up on the train ride here. Uses Every Flavor Beans and is ridiculously fun," Julian said.
He outlined the rules as they walked, explaining how you took turns blindly eating beans and tried to be the one who scored the most good flavors with the least disasters. By the time he finished explaining, both girls looked genuinely intrigued.
...
Ron soon reappeared in their usual hangout spot with a jumbo sized, unopened box of Every Flavor Beans.
Before they could even crack open the package, a blue streak of light hit Julian square in the back.
A heartbeat later, his hair exploded into a massive rainbow afro.
His friends immediately burst into hysterical laughter. The twins were doubled over, wheezing and pointing at him.
Julian reached up, felt the puffed out, multicolored curls, and smiled. Then, with a lazy flick of his wand, he said, "Finite Incantatem."
The spell unraveled, and his hair snapped back to its usual state.
"Drat," one twin said, deflating. "We were sure that one would take at least a trip to the Hospital Wing to fix."
Julian chuckled. "It takes a lot to push me that far. Getting me all the way to the hospital is harder than you think," he said. "I am going to assume that counts as you getting your payback?"
"Yep! We are square now," the other twin said cheerfully. "So hurry up and get our rings done."
"I should have them finished by Monday," Julian replied. Then his tone shifted just slightly. "On an unrelated note, I have a bit of business that might interest the two of you."
That immediately captured not only the twins' attention, but also his friends'.
Julian calmly laid out Malfoy's ongoing behavior and attitude, then offered the twins a few Galleons to "encourage" the blond to come down a step or two from his pedestal.
Tracy and Daphne very deliberately stayed out of this. Even within Slytherin, Draco had a reputation for being intolerably smug, so they had no inclination to get between him and whatever was about to happen.
If this had been a matter of House pride, they might have intervened. Since it was purely about Draco, they were perfectly content to let nature, or in this case, the twins, take its course.
Fred and George snapped off sharp salutes and accepted the coins.
"We will loosen him up real nice for you, mate, no worries at all," they promised in unison, grinning wickedly, before tearing off to begin their campaign.
Julian had a fleeting mental image of Draco, red faced and shrieking, writing to his father about it.
...
Until dinner, Julian and his friends lounged in the sunny courtyard, playing Blind Man's Luck.
To everyone's surprise, Daphne walked away with a dominant lead. She picked far more pleasant flavors than anyone else, and by the time the game ended, it was not even close.
"Are you sure you did not cheat somehow?" Tracy demanded, scowling as she swallowed yet another revolting bean.
Daphne shook her head. "Just good fortune," she replied honestly.
"You do realize there is no real way to cheat in this game, right?" Julian said, amused. "Even looking at the beans is more likely to hurt you than help, since you still have to eat some to win."
He lifted his shoulders in a small shrug. "Sometimes, luck really is just luck."