It was as if she could do no wrong! Zacharias was not ashamed to admit that he was part of the herd that accompanied Potter almost everywhere, it was the habit of Hufflepuffs to travel in packs, so it was only good sense that he be part of the most popular. He saw as she divvied up her attention in such a way that no one was overlooked, but whoever currently had her attention was given the full of it. He saw her take careful notes in class that she later shared without compunction. He had sat in the row behind her as she succeeded in transfiguring the matchstick before even the Ravenclaws.
If all that wasn't enough, she had somehow managed to wriggle herself into the dubious regards of the Slytherin upperclassmen, specifically the fourth and fifth years. When Potter had made a beeline to the Slytherin table the morning of the first day of school, Zacharias had thought she was completely mad, a sentiment others of their House seem to agree with when they saw exactly who it was Potter was seeking out. Zacharias had heard horror stories from his older friends about Marcus Flint and his cronies, none of which were flattering.
Potter had all but climbed into Flint's lap, cuddling up next to him and sparkling up at him with an expression of blatant adoration. There had been a moment in which no one even breathed, too struck by the little girl curling around the terrifying fifth-year as if he was a teddy-bear. Then Flint heaved a resigned sigh and returned to his eating. His bullying friends guffawed hideously but made no motion to remove Potter, one of them even shoving a plate in her direction when she made no movement to feed herself. It was completely baffling.
Later, when being interrogated about it, Potter told them that she had met Flint, Bole, and Montague on the train, and she had found them to be perfectly agreeable company. Zacharias wondered if she would eventually wander back to the dorms with a cerberus trailing behind her and tell them that she had found it abandoned in a box and that she didn't have the heart to leave such a sweet creature to fend for itself.
Heri had a following. It was to be expected, she supposed. Still, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with them. She might have called them her friends if it hadn't been for the blatant hero-worship they exuded. It turned out that being world-famous and being Sorted into Hufflepuff meant being the best thing since indoor plumbing to her fellow badgers. She wished they would dial down the awe since she didn't know how to live up to their expectations, but somehow Heri's awkward waving off of their adulation made them adore her even more; something about being admirable in her modesty.
All the attention made it incredibly hard for Heri to relax. By day she entertained a posse of Girl Who Lived fans between classes and during meals. She worked her people-skills to the bone, leading games and telling amusing stories. By night she was pandered to by her dorm-mates who couldn't get enough of doing hair and painting nails with her. She was expected to give them tips in styles while they drifted around her like ladies-in-waiting to their princess. It was exhausting work. Thankfully, they took her occasional fumbles as quirks from living the exciting life they presumed she had.
She had never dealt with such a large collection of people that didn't think negatively of her off the bat before and it turned out that dealing with kindness was somehow less simple than meanness. With people that thought she was a bad seed, Heri could just be however she wanted without any concern of what they thought because their opinion of her couldn't get much worse than it already was. With people that admired her, she felt obligated to behave and treat them kindly. She knew how disappointment felt and wouldn't wish it on anyone. These people expected greatness from her, she wasn't about to just roll over and die under the challenge.
Heri spent several weeks being as sweet as honey. She hadn't known she was physically capable of being as mild-tempered and friendly as she had been, she was so used to smacking down losers that had it in for her. 'Nice, little girl' wasn't a persona she had thought would ever suit her. Apparently, she managed it well enough. She rather liked it as well; no one tried to pick fights with her at all.
Truthfully, being 'nice' wasn't that far from her unbothered attitude from before; all she had to do was have zero interaction with people that made her angry, simple when the people surrounding her wanted so badly to be friends with her. She also had to hold her tongue, a habit she already cultivated from living with the Dursleys. She used to let her sharp tongue run free at school when people came asking for it, but such a practice wouldn't do her any favours at Hogwarts.
"Do you think I should braid my hair today, Heri, or leave it down?" Sally-Anne Perks had asked her while they primping before breakfast.
"It's very fluttery when it's down but the braid you use is pretty on top of being practical."
"Hey, Potter, can you help me with my Transfiguration homework?" asked Roger Malone one weekend evening. He and Oliver Rivers were the most Ravenclaw-y of the bunch and took their homework seriously.
"Of course. Could we work on Astronomy afterwards as well? I've heard you're very good at it."
"Could you sign this for me, Heri?" Hannah Abbot once inquired, holding a picture book that told the bed-time story version of the night Voldemort exploded. "My little cousin is your biggest fan!"
"If you want me to. Is this the same cousin that reads the Young Merlin Mysteries? I like that series as well."
Left and right, Heri worked the crowd. All she really had to do was treat them kindly and pay attention to their interests. Considering they were going out of their way to do the same for her, Heri thought it was only common decency that she did the same.