She does her best to get in good with the Slytherins, including Malfoy.

At Dumbledore’s behest, Bathilda waited in the right spot to sneak into the incoming sixth year Slytherins without them noticing she hadn’t been on the train, rather than letting them know what she’d already been at the school ahead of time. It was odd for her, because even the spell done to her mind wasn’t able to really help her here. Harry didn’t know most of the Slytherins very well, and Bathilda was a transfer student, and didn’t know them at all. So, Bathilda made sure to work closer to Pansy and Draco as they entered the castle and sat at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall for the feast.

Once she had sat down directly to Pansy Parkinson’s right, the girl took notice of Bathilda’s presence and eyed her, confused. “Who are you?” the girl asked, the question coming with a little heat covered by an attempt at cool disinterest. It might have been enough to make Harry Potter think that Pansy didn’t care much about the answer, but Bathilda had stronger social skills than that.

When it came to meeting new people, Harry had always been rather straightforward. It was very...Gryffindor of him. That kind of attitude wouldn’t work here, with the Slytherins. Bathilda needed to keep herself socially savvy, doing her best to read the intent behind what each person said. “I’m Bathilda Honeypot, I just transferred from the Salem Academy. My family is a Pureblood one, from Wales, but we’ve been living in the United States due to my father’s work since I was eight.” That cleared up, Bathilda looked from Pansy to Draco, who had been listening in with mild attention. “Is he your boyfriend?”

If delivered plainly, such a line would only make her be seen as a foolish assumption, mark her as their inferior. But Bathilda had made sure the undercurrent to her question was clear: if this isn’t your boyfriend, he’s free to be mine. Pansy flushed at the implication, and before she could say a word Malfoy cut in. “No, she’s not.” He was being short with Bathilda, turning to look away from her, but she could work that. Now, it wasn’t as if she wanted to actually date Malfoy, but it would be a great way to infiltrate the House, and as the son of a **** Eater, to get more intel for the Order. Of course, working to befriend Pansy could accomplish some of that, and there were other people in Slytherin who Bathilda could work on getting to know better, like Blaise Zabini or Daphne Greengrass. But something about trying to get in close to Malfoy appealed to her. Whether it was the challenge it would present to Bathilda, or the opportunity to fool Malfoy for Harry, she didn’t know.