"Now that is a rather rude thing to say, Ron. There is nothing slimy about these two girls," Julian said calmly.
Harry stiffened at the tone.
Julian was usually all grins, jokes, and casual remarks. The only time he went quiet and spoke in that level, controlled voice was when he was actually angry. Harry understood shouting, that kind of fury made sense, but calm anger made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
"You know what I mean! No one in Slytherin is ever a good person!" Ron shot back, face flushing almost as red as his hair.
Behind Julian, Daphne and Tracey shifted uncomfortably, clearly feeling the hostility even if it was not aimed directly at them.
"That is simply not true, and I can prove it," Julian replied, still in that disturbingly even voice. "Merlin himself was a Slytherin, along with plenty of other famous witches and wizards. What you are talking about is personal bias, not fact."
He turned away after that, leaving Ron standing there, mouth opening and closing as he tried to think of some way to argue with that point and came up empty.
Harry hesitated only a moment before decisively siding with Julian. He stepped around Ron and introduced himself properly to Daphne and Tracey, offering a small, polite smile.
Hermione, having realized it was just a pointless spat driven by prejudice, simply turned on her heel and left without weighing in at all.
The two Slytherin girls parted from Julian and Harry shortly after. They did not want the attention that would come from sitting at another house's table in the Great Hall. Being stared at by an entire group of Gryffindors did not sound appealing.
"You all right?" Harry asked once they had taken their seats at the long Gryffindor table.
"Yeah, I am fine, Harry," Julian said with a sigh. "I just did not expect to have to call him out that early."
Harry frowned. "What do you mean?"
"The guy is a sheep, mate," Julian said, stabbing a sausage with perhaps a bit more force than necessary. "His opinions are not really his. They are just things he has picked up from people around him. Everyone says most dark wizards come from Slytherin, so he believes all Slytherins are evil. See?"
Harry fell silent, thinking it over. He replayed his short time with Ron so far and had to admit that it fit. Ron had never truly started anything himself. He reacted to what other people said, followed along, got swept up.
"Does that mean he only hangs around with me because I am famous?" Harry asked quietly, eyes suddenly shadowed with hurt.
Julian sighed again, then nodded. "At the moment, yes," he said honestly. "He might develop genuine reasons to be your friend later, but right now, he is here for your fame."
Harry's expression twisted, the answer clearly painful to hear.
"Cheer up, mate," Julian added quickly. "I was here before all this fame nonsense came up, and I am not going anywhere."
That helped. Harry's shoulders loosened a little, and a faint smile tugged at his mouth.
Ron eventually wandered over and sat at the Gryffindor table as well, but he very pointedly avoided making eye contact with Julian. That was perfectly fine as far as Julian was concerned.
He kept one eye on the time and made sure Harry did not lose track of it. At about 12;30, they pushed back from the table and headed out. They both ate quickly enough that they were full and still had plenty of time to get to the greenhouses for the second half of Herbology.
On the way and while they waited for class to start, Julian shared some of the secrets he had discovered during his exploration of the castle the day before.
Tracey and Daphne arrived about five minutes later and were surprised at the topic of conversation they walked in on.
"So you actually found the kitchens?" Tracey asked eagerly.
"She likes late night snacks and has been complaining about it since we got here," Daphne explained with a resigned sigh.
"Hey, do not act like you do not share them with me," Tracey protested, crossing her arms.
Julian and Harry both burst out laughing at their bickering.
"Yeah, the kitchens are pretty close to the dungeons, actually," Julian said. "So you two would have a good chance of raiding them without getting in trouble. It is not like the house elves will mind."
"Really? Where are they? We looked all over yesterday and could not find anything," Tracey said honestly.
"All right," Julian said, grinning. "Do you know that big painting of a fruit bowl near the wine cellar?"
"You are joking," Daphne said, staring at him in disbelief.
"Nope," Julian replied. "If you tickle the pear, it turns into a door handle. Pull it, and you get into the kitchens. It is a bit creepy the first time, to be honest."
"Ugh, we walked past that painting at least four times yesterday!" Tracey groaned.
"Easy enough to miss," Julian said with a shrug. "I had to ask one of the other paintings to figure it out."
"Wait, you can do that?" Daphne asked, sounding genuinely surprised.
"Of course you can," Julian said, laughing. "Most of the time they are just glad someone is talking to them at all. It gets pretty boring hanging on a wall all day."
"We are definitely going to check that out later," Tracey said, already looking far too pleased at the idea of unlimited snacks.
Professor Sprout arrived right on the tail end of that sentence, cheerful and earthy as always. She greeted the gathered students with a bright smile, clearly delighted to be starting the term's work among her plants and the slightly mismatched assortment of Gryffindors and Slytherins who were slowly, cautiously learning how to share a greenhouse.