Recalibration

Here is the discord server if you want to discuss the novel The link is in the comment.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"WHAT ????"

"Is this some kind of trick, To try and make me drop my guard so you can do what you want under my nose"

"Haha, No it isn't a trick Hermione, But I have to say your continued belief in the existence of my nefarious intentions is very entertaining"

"But why do you want to be friends with me, Aren't you insulted by the fact that I think you are acting very shady"

"I will admit that I have been acting in a solitary manner since I came to Hogwarts, Keeping good relations with most of the students I met, But keeping them at arm's length nonetheless, But that is only because magic is so fascinating and deep that I thought it would be best to spend my time studying it and preparing for my future, I am sure you've had similar thoughts haven't you, You have noticed that our peers biggest concern was pranking each other and picking fights with other houses, I thought I was above such things, I thought I had to work hard to achieve my goals without distracting myself "

"But I think now I see that it was flawed thinking that led to that conclusion, I have been feeling lonely lately and my mood has been bad in response which in the end led to me hitting a wall with my research, Counterproductive in the end you see"

"..."

"And I also feel that if we are friends there won't be a future misunderstanding of this nature, If you know more about me maybe you won't be so quick to fill the blanks with your own theories, So a win for all parties"

"..."

"Vey well I can take a hint, I hope you have a good day Ms. Granger, I think I have had enough of our game, It was fun while it lasted, I'll see you around"

Liam started walking away Not exactly knowing where he was going before he stopped when he heard behind him

"But I didn't answer the last question yet "

Liam turned around

"Go ahead Hermione, I am all ears"

"OK, but I Have some conditions, I want you to tell me right now with no messing about, Did you start that fire and how did you beat that troll??, And no lying, Ever"

Liam made a quick calculation in his head before wearing a big smile and saying

"Well what's a few conditions between friends, I did start that fire but not out of malice for anyone, Merely a distraction to make sure no one saw me helping out Neville, A lot of good that did me, As for the troll I just needed to use the levitation charm, Striping the troll of its weapon and arming my self with it at the same time, Then it came down to a few bangs on the head and that was that "

"If you were just helping Neville why to try to hide it, And why just not let Mrs hooch help him instead of distracting her?, And why not tell anyone about the troll, Why keep the fact that you beat it a secret"

"As for the fact that I acted instead of letting the Teacher do their job, That is simply born out of my conviction that adults are just people, And that counting on them as your only lifeline is a recipe for disappointment and tragedy, who knows I am probably wrong, But I can't help my self, If I see something must be done I believe that is best I get it done myself, And if you want proof about the glaring lack of responsibility displayed at this school, Look no further then the fact that because of the way it was handled a simple situation ended up with two students coming face to face with a troll without a teacher in sight, Have you even asked yourself why there was a troll roaming around the school in the first place, It is quite the strange occurrence wouldn't you say"

Hermione looked at Liam wondering what happened to him to give him such a cynical view of life and made him so pessimistic while also recognizing the base truth of what he said even with his embellishment and exaggeration

Liam meanwhile noticed the questioning look decorated Hermione's face and he realized he took it too far, He shouldn't be speaking like this as a normal 11-year-old, He had even somewhat surprised himself by the amount of righteous indignation he had felt while spouting those words, And wondered why those words came so easily to him, But he decided to save the self-examination for later and kept going

"As for why I never took credit, I simply didn't see the benefit, Everything is going great for me right now, I have access to a great library, Some good classes with brilliant teachers, I am sure you know which ones I mean, I even now have magic at my fingertips just waiting to be used to make all my dreams come true, And now a friend that I can bore by telling them about all the good thing I have"

Liam said with a chuckle before continuing

"But with fame, No more like infamy, I would gain no advantages more than what I already have, but instead accrue disadvantages by the dozen, Between those Envious and sycophants and false friends, And every simple thing I do taken as some grand gesture with hidden meaning, And everything being so cumbersome and complicated, No I am quite happy with who things are and I'd like to keep it that way, Just look at how people who aren't familiar with Harry treat him for something that he can't even remember, I'll pass"

Again Liam was concerned with what he had just said, he was only thinking of saying something to the meaning of the values his privacy, But found himself going on a tirade about how people are so toxic and its best to stick to yourself, And he started wondering if he actually believes that, He knew both his lives had hardships in them, But they were also filled with good people that treaded him like family and loved him, So why was his view so cynical

'I don't think I was given a fair shot in my first life, Mom having to work so hard to take care of us and Dad not even living to see his children grow up, And his children not knowing what it was like to have a father, But I was happy wasn't I?, Up until I ended up dying for no fucking reason out of nowhere, with no warnings, Leaving my family with no one to look after them'

Liam stopped when he started thinking about the Car accident, He found himself clenching his fist way too tight and his face was heating up.

'It seems that I have some unresolved trauma about dying, who would of thunk it, Now let's start talking again before I come off as more of a weirdo as I already do, Man I really talk too much in my head, I guess getting a friend is more important then I thought '

"Sorry I didn't mean to go off like that but those were my reasons, So what do you say, Regretting your decision already" Liam said while scratching his head and smiling a sheepish smile

"You are so weird, But I guess I could use a friend now that I lost the ones I made"

"You mean Harry and Ron right, I wasn't lying when I said we talked about you, But I might have let you draw your own conclusions about that, They were actually thinking of how to apologize to you, I'd give them some slack if I were you, we all make mistakes but we shouldn't lose our friends over them, Especially when there was enough blame to go around"

"Hay, What blame, I turned out to be right in the end!!"

"While you were right about some of what I did, You were also thought I was evil, So take it easy with the victory parade"

"It was Ron who said that ok, And I still haven't made up my mind about that"

"My point stands, I just feel a bit guilty since the whole thing happened because of a misunderstanding I caused, So at least give them a chance, Good friends are hard to come by"

Liam started walking and Hermione followed him

"Where are we going?"

"WE?"

"We are friends aren't we?"

"Alright then, I was going to the library, Hermione would you like to join me" Liam said in an exaggerated manner

"Why yes of course" Hermione said without missing a beat also in a performative style

"About that how are you in transfiguration, I have been stuck on something for a while and I could use some fresh eyes"

"You have trouble with transfiguration, You are always the first one in class"

"That is because I study ahead, actually what I am stuck on is embarrassingly simple, I just can't get the details quite right"

"Ok, what are you trying to transfigure, Oh... Wait, How did you know I was following you, right now I mean, I was being so careful"

"That was ..."

-------------------------------

The days started to pass once again But Liam wasn't on pins and needles as much as before, His routine didn't change much from before Halloween, Or as he liked to call it Troll day, But now he would spend a couple of days a week with Hermione studying in the library or trying spells by the lake, And after Harry and begrudging Ron apologized he even spent time with the full trio, Much to the surprise Of Harry and Ron of course, To them at first it was that Hermione thought Liam was responsible for every bad thing that happened in Hogwarts, And next thing they knew, There they were talking very politely to one another and exchanging notes and making book recommendations like nothing ever happened.

Liam started rethinking some of his planes, And he came to the conclusion that he didn't have to do everything alone.

With Hermione's help In transfiguration, He had actually already secured a big part of his plan, And now all he had to do was make sure all the pieces fell in the right place, That and he had to learn what was in his opinion one of the most useful spells ever, if a bit illegal, But what is the room of requirements for if not for some extra curriculum knowledge, The trouble was the version of the spell he found there was very old and quite rudimentary, And while it wasn't that hard to perform, The theory behind it was archaic to say the least, And he had to make sure that he understood it perfectly, because when it comes to spatial magic, Good enough can mean split in half.

He sometimes felt like he was doing the wrong thing involving himself too much with the trio, It felt unnecessary and too self-indulgent, They now almost always ate in the great hall together, And while he still disappeared every couple of days so he can work in the room of requirement, He still spent a not small amount of time with his new friends, They were characters that he liked and read about a lifetime ago, And he couldn't deny that it had something to do with that, And it also reminded him of his time with his brother, But over time and especially after exposure to the trio he was sure that there was a world of difference between the 'characters' and the people he saw in front of him, And he wondered how he ever thought otherwise.

No book or movie no matter how intricate and detailed would ever encapsulate the human experience that well, too many things that make people what they are, Are not thought of or brushed aside when telling a story, And so in the end Liam thought that his choice was the right one, He was gaining a new perspective on his new friends and trying to apply that to all his knowledge While at the same time giving himself a chance to actually have a childhood for once.

He just hoped he wouldn't grow to regret it