Hermione Granger was currently sat in the Hogwarts library, head bent over books as she intensely studied and wrote down notes. Her bushy brown hair was larger than usual and when someone walked by, that was all they would see along with piles of books stacked taller than them. Her footlong parchment was also completed filled with ink and having not brought any more, Hermione had resorted to writing things in the corners and in any empty space she could find. The girl was attempting to use her wits by aiding out her friend as she looked at past Triwizard Tournaments and what their tasks had been. She wanted to see if she could connect the dots enough and figure out at least one task to help out Harry. However, it wasn't looking too good so far.

The Gryffindor girl sighed, leaning back in her chair as she took a little break. She winced at the pain in her neck and rose a hand to try and massage out the kink that now resided there. As she did so, the new, mysterious student, Eridanus Lestrange came to mind. Hermione remembered how gutted the boy appeared to be when Harry had been announced as champion. Of course, Hermione had felt a sinking feeling in her gut as her friend was sent off to his death, but for Eridanus it didn't make sense why he would be upset - he didn't even know Harry. Ron hadn't even seemed that saddened, more so upset that Harry hadn't told him of his plan to enter and that he would once again be in the spotlight. Hermione knew, however, that Harry had not been put into the tournament willingly and she was desperate to find out why.

But back to the topic of Eridanus, it especially didn't make sense as his cousin was Draco Malfoy whom was the exact opposite of Harry's biggest fan. Hermione made a mental note to corner Eridanus later with perhaps Ron on her side (even if he was mad at Harry, that didn't cancel out his curiosity of the Lestrange boy). The girl nodded to herself in affirmation before she was going back to her furious studying, the kink in her neck still prominently painful.

Unbeknownst to her, Eridanus Lestrange was already searching for Hermione as he knew the girl would attempt talk to him sooner or later and he'd rather make it sooner than later so he could get it out of the way. After a little probing at Draco as well as his own observations, Eridanus had figured out that Hermione spent most of her time studying in the library, therefore that is where he went first. Not even being in the library for more than a minute, Eridanus quickly spotted Hermione's bushy haired head bent over some books in a corner in the library and immediately headed over there.

Some students glanced at him curiously as he passed, still weary on the Lestrange boy. Eridanus himself made sure to stay far away from others, especially when at risk of accidentally touching them. It was a vast difference being in Hogwarts with many students opposed to having grown up in a large manor with very few residents residing there. The boy would get used to the crowd eventually, it was simply taking him time to adjust.

Hermione had been so caught up in her research that she hadn't even noticed when Eridanus sat down across from her until he spoke. “You don't think that they'll recycle ideas, do you?” He said snarkily, startling Hermione who nearly jumped in fright, looking at him with wide brown eyes.

“P-Pardon?” She stuttered out, confused as to not only what Eridanus was referring to but also what he was doing sat in front of Hermione. She had noticed how the boy usually liked to sit alone when not with Draco, and also how he seemed to avoid communicating with others as much as possible.

Eridanus raised his left brow, stiffly crossing his right leg over his left one before leaning back in the chair. He didn't appreciate how Hermione was acting stupid even though she was the brightest witch of their age. “The task makers wouldn't recycle ideas or make any vaguely similar.”

Hermione chewed on her lip nervously as admittedly that thought had not crossed her mind. “Of course they wouldn't.”

Eridanus looked pointedly at the book that Hermione had been reading, the girl glaring at him in return. She quickly snapped her book shut; a loud clap echoing around the library causing some students to look over at them in annoyance. Hermione blushed, shying away from the stares whereas Eridanus simply paid them no mind. Since arriving at Hogwarts he had been used to having many eyes on him as they observed the new student. Once recovered and the other students had lost interest and looked away, Hermione snapped at the Lestrange boy, “It's none of your business.”

Eridanus’ eyes darkened dangerously, causing Hermione to shift slightly out of nervousness as the boy seemed to radiate a sort of doom feeling; a bad aura surrounding him. “You would think.” He mumbled softly, so vague and quiet that Hermione almost hadn't caught it. Yet she did.

“Who are you?” She demanded rhetorically as she obviously knew the name of the boy yet she still couldn't quite understand who exactly he was. Eridanus Lestrange was an enigma that Hermione was eager to figure out. Her eyes narrowed as she asked the question, looking the boy up and down curiously.

Eridanus stared back at the Gryffindor as she studied him, a small snarl making its way onto his features, not enjoying feeling like a project for Hermione to disect. “Eridanus Lestrange; thought your nosy self would have known that already. Or perhaps that annoying brat Lavender would have told you.”

Hermione’s back stiffened as she bristled in anger, a red hue appearing on her pale cheeks. “You have no right to insult my friend.”

A slow, patronizing grin made its way onto Eridanus’ face. He had paid enough attention to the girl and her interactions to know otherwise. “Friend is she?”

Hermione sighed in annoyance before briskly changing the topic of conversation, knowing that Eridanus was right and there was no way she could fight him on it as she didn't care much for Lavender Brown. “What do you want?”

Eridanus stiffened slightly, the smile dropping from his face as his confidence disappeared. He was quiet for a few minutes, Hermione regarding him carefully, watching as his stormy blue eyes were hidden for a few moments as Eridanus squeezed them shut before opening them once more. Yet she waited patiently for him to tell her what he had sought her out to say, instead of simply rushing him and risking the male clamming up and ending up saying nothing. “Tell Potter that he should keep an eye out - specifically for the other champions as they have a greater advantage. Oh, and that he should explore the Forbidden Forest frequently.” He spoke at least, his tone cold and harsh with little emotion seeping through.

“What do you mean?” Hermione sputtered, confused on why Eridanus seemed to be helping Harry, unless perhaps that he was actually tricking her friend and luring him into a trap. However, she wanted to get as much information out of Eridanus as she could.

The Slytherin ignored the girl as he stood up, brushing off imaginary dust from his green and black adorned robes. “If he wished for an elaboration, tell him to owl me.” He responded simply before turning around as he prepared to walk away. Before he could, however, Hermione urgently grabbed onto his sleeve, prohibiting him from going any further.

“Why are you helping?” She demanded, dark brown eyes looking up at him pleadingly as she attempted to figure out the Lestrange boy's motives. No one had ever intrigued and frustrated her as much as Eridanus Lestrange did, as she had always been able to figure things out rather quickly.

Eridanus hurriedly snatched his arm away from Hermione roughly before he was pulling down his sleeve, making sure it covered his wrist as usual. “If Potter loses then people will lose faith, think about it.” He elaborated, looking down at the girl in disgust before quickly rushing away before Hermione had a chance to grab at him once more.

He rubbed the spot that she had touched as he left, a shiver running down his back as he thought about it. As Eridanus stalked down the corridor away from the library, he thought over what he said, knowing that he had given Hermione enough information to go off of until the next task came around - yet without giving away too much. He knew the girl would be able to figure it out quickly and he hoped she would trust him and relay the information on to Harry.

Back in the library, Hermione shut all her books before quickly putting them back on the shelves, taking extra care to make sure that everything was put back in its proper place. Once that was done, she rushed off to find Harry, planning to tell him everything that Eridanus had said. As she went, she wondered how Lestrange knew so much and Hermione found it slightly suspicious. But she would look more into him later on. At the moment, she had to help her friend hopefully survive the first, and all other, upcoming tasks.

As Eridanus rounded the corner, he took a small piece of parchment out of his pocket. Looking down at it which held Hermione's written approval to access the restricted section, he smiled proudly to himself. This was exactly what he needed. He just hoped he'd be able to find what he was looking for.

“What do you mean by that?” Draco hesitantly asked Eridanus, staring at his cousin nervously. It was a few hours later and the two boys were up in a tree in the courtyard talking. Eridanus highly disliked the idea yet Draco insisted and so he followed him up - even if he felt like an idiot.

Eridanus huffed, reaching up and pulling a leaf off of a nearby branch. He twirled it around by its stem, getting entranced by the vibrant green of it before replying. “I'm saying that there are dragons for the first task. I saw them when I went into the Forbidden Forest.”

“You went into the Forbidden Forest?!” Draco hissed in shock, looking around them vigilantly to make sure no one had overheard. Although, even if someone had, it would just appear to be voices from the tree so they needn't have worried. Draco gripped the front of his cousins robes tightly, looking at him with wide,  frightened eyes. “It's called the Forbidden Forest for a reason, Eri.”

Eridanus scoffed in annoyance, quickly pushing Draco's hands off of him as though he had been burned. He then straightened out his robes (well as straight as they could be with one straddling a tree branch) before supplying Draco with a bored look. “I had to get out Draco,” Eridanus reasoned, leaning back to allow his back to rest up against the trunk of the tree, feet dangling off the sides of the branch. “Being cooped up in this castle with so many people - not to mention all these foreigners, is setting me on edge.”

Draco, having been relaxed beforehand, was now in a very tense position at the sudden news as he sat across from his cousin. “But Filch doesn't favour us, Eridanus! You can't just go off in the middle of the night and prance in the forest without protection!”

“I don't prance, for your information.” He retorted blankly, Draco raising a disbelieving eyebrow at him in return although Eridanus pointedly ignored that. “And anyway, Filch and I happen to be on friendly terms -”

“Friendly terms my ass.” Draco interrupted with a scoff and a shake of his head, flicking his blonde hair out of his eyes. He didn't believe it possible to be on ‘friendly terms’ or anything of the sort with Argus Filch - even if you were as charming as Eridanus Lestrange.

Eridanus glared at his cousin, however, he continued on with his speech. “Not to mention that I'm quite skilled with my wand, Draco, and I know plenty of hexes that will keep me out of trouble. I'm not completely helpless, you know.”

Draco did in fact know that as his parents had always praised Eridanus for being so skillful and natural with magic as they told him to be more like his cousin. He sighed, a disappointed expression directed towards the darker skinned male whom he considered a brother. “Mother will hear about this.”

Eridanus rolled his eyes, chuckling softly under his breath even though he knew how protective his aunt could be. He still decided to tease his cousin, however, by saying, “All fear the dreaded Narcissa Malfoy!”

The blonde’s eyes narrowed viciously as he stared down his cousin, light grey eyes clashing with stormy grey ones. The boy was quite fond of his mother and didn't appreciate people saying things about her - even if it was family. Draco went to retort before being interrupted by a commotion occurring a yard or so away from the pair. They both looked down to see a raven head of messy hair heading in their direction; Draco's scolding expression disappeared while a nasty smirk took its place as he took in the sight of his foe.

“Hey, Potter!” Draco called Harry's attention before elegantly dropping down from the tree and sauntering over to the raven haired boy. Eridanus sighed under his breath, fully aware of what was to occur and wishing he could have no part in it, yet he still jumped down from the tree, equally as graceful as his cousin - if not more so. He stepped up to stand beside Draco who was currently sporting an arrogant smirk on his aristocratic features.

“Why so tense, Potter?” Draco taunted as Harry walked by, the boy briefly glancing at the purebloods before attempting to ignore them. “My father and I have a little bet, you see. I don't think you're going to last ten minutes in minutes in this tournament.” The boy paused a moment for dramatic affect. “He disagrees. He think you won't last five.” Draco laughed, while Eridanus simply stood by watching in exasperation, hands fidgeting with his pants pockets as they rested by his side. His cousin really was too much to handle.

“I don't give a damn what your father thinks, Malfoy.” Harry aggressively responded, walking towards them and giving a slight shove to Draco's chest on the last word. Eridanus raised a curious brow at the boy, secretly glad that he stood up to Draco yet also surprised that Harry finally got up the nerve to do so. Although he wouldn't hesitate to step in if things got too physical as Draco was his cousin after all and they were meant to look out for each other. However, that didn't mean that he wouldn't let Draco get a bit roughed up first. Perhaps that would finally teach the prat a lesson. “He's vile and cruel,” Harry spat, staring down Draco whom glared at him response. Just as Draco didn't like others talking about his mother, he didn't like them talking about his father either. “And you're pathetic.” He finished before starting to walk away, not even having noticed Eridanus who had placed a deliberate hand over his mouth as he looked like he was assessing the situation when in reality he was hiding the smirk on his face.

Draco was obviously not happy that Harry had snapped back at him and he hurriedly went to grab his wand. Eridanus had been prepared to stop his cousin from doing something idiotic, however, Professor Moody had interfered before he got the chance. Then the next thing Eri knew, his cousin was being turned into a ferret. Now that you didn't see everyday.

The crowd that had gathered laughed as Moody used his hand to send Draco flying in the air. Eridanus bit the inside of his lip as he attempted to remain neutral on the surface, not wanting a laugh of his own to accidentally slip. He couldn't help but admit how ridiculous and hilarious his cousin looked and couldn't even imagine how the boy (or ferret) was feeling. The fun didn't last for long, however, as Professor McGonagall quickly came sweeping in and returned Draco back to his body. Eridanus was a bit saddened by that fact.

“My father will hear about this!” Draco shouted as he looked over at Moody in fright. Eridanus rolled his eyes at his cousin's usual line. He was fairly certain that Lucius wouldn't care so much for the situation. The teacher lunged at Draco before being stopped by McGonagall once more who scolded her peer, an unamused expression residing upon her features.

Harry watched as Draco ran away in fear and shame, chuckling before turning around only to find Eridanus Lestrange looking back at him. The group had dispersed, along with the professors, and now it was just the two boys alone in the courtyard. Harry looked at the other boy curiously, sending him an unusual look as he said, “Why aren't you running after Draco?”

Eridanus simply stared back at him, the vibrancy of his bright eyes that seemed to radiate turquoise under the rays of the sun took Harry slightly aback as he had never seen such beauty before. Once he wasn't distracted anymore by Eridanus’ piercing eyes, he could detect disappointment and understanding in his gaze.

Eridanus licked his chapped lips, drawing Harry's attention towards that part of the male's face. Eridanus then cleared his throat, noticing where Harry had been looking and shifted on the spot uncomfortably. “Not all Slytherins are bad, Potter.” Eridanus spoke seriously, regarding Harry so earnestly that it honestly surprised the boy. “You best start believing that.”

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I quite liked the beginning of this chapter but im not so sure about how i feel about the ending but oh well. Little shoutout goes to sectumsirius for majorly helping out with this chapter.

Other than that, let me know how you guys liked this chapter. What do you think of Hermione and Eridanus' interaction? Why do you think Eridanus needs the restricted section permission slip? What about Eridanus' interactions with Draco and Harry? I'd love to know what you think!