"What are you now saying instead?"

"Well, it's still something like that, but rather than going on about political expediency I'm just saying that I'm your friend and I like you. ...and I'm implying I have ulterior motives but I'll probably drop that too once I'm actually friends with someone there."

"Is it working?"

"Sort of. Parkinson's convinced I have some plan that called for this sudden change of tacks, Crabbe and Goyle... don't really understand any of this, I have no idea what they're doing in Slytherin, Malfoy just won't speak to me and neither will Zabini and Nott. Bulstrode and Greengrass are sort of neutral ground, they won't directly ignore me but won't really do much more than that."

He nods.

"Parkinson likes Malfoy but in the way where she wants to be better than him, and different than him, and talking to me helps with that. I'm still not sure what I'll use to befriend the others but it's just the first week."

Nod.

Shrug. "Maybe I'll just be my usual irresistible self."

And back to reading.

The library is good. Victor appreciates the library.

The next few days are uneventful. Malfoy continues being a little pest, but Dayo's seen with Pansy Parkinson pretty frequently.

And on Friday there's Potions again.

He sits farther from the front of the room this time.

Snape stalks into the classroom, looking like he's eaten something that didn't agree with him. He turns to face the classroom and starts taking attendance. He very studiously does not look at Dayo and Victor when calling their names, and when he reaches the end of the list he takes a deep breath.

"It has been... brought to my attention," he drawls, "that my conduct in this classroom last week was..." Now his eyes rest on Dayo, but betray nothing. "Subpar. I apologise for any upset I may have caused," he says, looking as if uttering the word is physically harming him, and this time he looks at Victor. "I shall endeavour to avoid failing you thusly in the future."

Well okay that's nearly as terrifying as being picked on, but if it worked -

Victor looks very much like his mother for a moment.

Which is when he breaks eye contact and starts actually teaching something.

He is extremely quiet all through, and doesn't unduly criticise anyone. He avoids Victor like the plague, but in a perfectly plausibly deniable way.

Victor dedicates himself to brewing a perfect potion.

It is a very good potion. Snape has nothing negative to say about it.

And after class, Dayo catches up with them.

"What did you do?"

Neville looks at Victor like he's his hero. "You did this?"

"I asked Professor McGonagall if there was a code of conduct for teachers and she asked why I wanted to know and I explained what our first Potions lesson was like and she said I could file a formal complaint and gave me a form and I wrote everything down and she smiled and thanked me."

"...and that worked?"

Dayo covers her mouth to try to stifle the fit of giggles threatening to overcome her.

"Apparently it did."

"Victor," she says between strangled noises that sound like hiccups, "you are a genius and you are allowed to use this against me forever."