Altair kept eating. Hermione was sitting beside him with the distracted look, so he asked, "Do we have class together this morning?"
"What? Oh, yes. Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. Gryffindor and Slytherin have that one together." She came back to herself and straightened slightly. "This afternoon's History of Magic isn't with Slytherin though, that's Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. But tomorrow's Charms, Thursday's Potions, Friday's Defence Against the Dark Arts, and the three Herbology sessions each week are all shared between us."
She said it without consulting anything, the whole schedule sitting neatly in her head already.
"What about flying lessons? I'm curious about the brooms."
"Those don't start until the second week. Nothing this week."
She flipped open her timetable anyway, checked it, tucked it back into her book. Then she looked around the hall and her expression quieted.
"I'm sorry. I caused you trouble."
"That had nothing to do with you. I already wanted to deal with her."
Pansy had been taking shots at him since that morning in the common room. He'd been looking for a reason.
"You don't have to say that to make me feel better. If I hadn't come over here, you wouldn't have..." She trailed off. "I'm just glad the Headmaster didn't punish you. I'd have felt terrible."
She still looked guilty. Altair didn't push it.
"It would've been so much better if you were in Gryffindor." Hermione glanced toward the Gryffindor table, then lowered her voice. "The atmosphere here really isn't very warm. And I heard some of them saying that Slytherin is basically a training ground for Dark wizards."
Altair ate a piece of potato. "Don't listen to that. Every house has produced Dark wizards. Slytherin has simply produced more of them. Merlin was a Slytherin, for what it's worth. A house doesn't decide everything. What matters most is the choices a wizard makes for himself."
"I chose Slytherin. Slytherin did not choose me. That's the part that matters."
Hermione didn't entirely follow it, but something in the way he said it caught her off guard. For a moment she just looked at him, and he seemed, somehow, more than he usually did.
Her cheeks went pink. She smiled without meaning to and tilted her head, saying nothing.
Altair glanced at her plate. "Is that all you've eaten?"
A slice of toast. A glass of milk. Barely anything.
"I'm just not used to eating much in the morning."
"Learn from him."
He gestured behind him at Ron, who was working through a steak with singular dedication. The Weasley boy hadn't had many chances at proper food growing up. After a few days of this, he'd probably settle into it.
"He certainly has a healthy appetite," Hermione said diplomatically.
"His name is Ron Weasley. Those twins are his brothers, and your prefect over there is his brother as well. The whole family's in Gryffindor." She pointed along the table to where Harry sat beside Ron. "And that's Harry Potter. He's in several books actually. Apparently he's done some remarkable things."
"Sounds like you've already made quite a few friends."
Hermione puffed out her cheeks. "They're not exactly friends. We just got to know each other a bit over dinner. Neville mentioned last night that he wished you'd ended up in Gryffindor too."
"What a pity, then."
Altair took out his pocket watch. More than forty minutes before class. He looked at Hermione, who had nothing particular to do, and leaned in slightly toward her ear.
"If you're bored, the first Transfiguration lesson covers how to turn a match into a needle. You could read ahead."
He sat back and returned to his fried eggs. Hermione's face went red.
"How do you know that?"
"I dreamed it last night. I think I have a gift for Divination."
He said it with just enough weight to be unconvincing on purpose. Hermione clearly didn't believe him, but she took out her book and started reading anyway.
...
After breakfast they left the Great Hall together, Altair and Hermione side by side, and headed toward the Transfiguration classroom. Neville caught up with them along the way, slightly breathless, and reported that the earlier scene with Pansy had made an impression on certain Gryffindors, and not an entirely favorable one. Some of them had apparently concluded that Altair and Hermione must have been together before Hogwarts, back in the Muggle world.
Altair didn't give it a second thought.
Hermione went quiet and looked at the floor, her ears noticeably pink.
Several students were already in the classroom when they arrived, waiting for the lesson. On the teacher's desk sat a tabby cat, perfectly still, watching them.
Altair walked up and gave it a polite bow.
Hermione and Neville exchanged a glance behind him, not quite understanding, but when Altair looked back at them they bowed as well, a little uncertainly, to the cat.