Potions class. It was always so dull. I never saw myself having any sort of future with it. Why did I need to study it if I would never utilize the elements of brewing drafts?

It was ridiculous.

Being at age fifteen, I knew well that I had to start thinking about what my future would have to look like. Brewing potions was not my cup of tea, especially when I frequently witnessed my classmates getting burn scars, charred noses, frizzed hair...

No. Absolutely not.

At the table behind me, I could hear Ellouise Greengrass giggling about something or other, and it was all I could do to not cringe at the sound of her obnoxious laughter. Louise might have been a fifth-year like myself, but she acted as if she was ten years old. I couldn't determine the source of her fit of humor, but nor did I have the desire to find out. I didn't exactly feel obligated to butt in - thankfully, Professor Slughorn was already on top of it.

"Miss Greengrass," he said, having steered away from his lecture about Veritaserum and how it got its name. "Is there something you'd like to share with the class?"

Instantly, the blonde Slytherin stopped her giggling, and it was all I could do not to grin. It was about time she got called out on her snarky, little attitude. One would think I might have been friends with Ellouise - we were both Slytherins, after all, weren't we? However, I found plenty of satisfaction not being the target of her cackling. When the only thing the girl could ever find to talk about was herself, I would have preferred to use mandrakes as earmuffs.

"No, sir. Sorry."

"Are you sure?" Slughorn insisted, raising an eyebrow. Now, a couple of other fifth-years were partaking in little laughs. Even I couldn't help myself. "If I wanted to push the subject, you know I could." Between his thumb and index finger, the professor wiggled the tiny vial in front of his face, as if lightly threatening her with it. At this, Greengrass said nothing. I couldn't wait to tell Bellatrix about this. She always said the girl would one day get what was coming to her for being such a self-centered brat.

And yet, she had more friends than I did.

Nothing wrong with that. The only company I really needed was that of my sisters, Bellatrix and Andromeda. Soon, I would be able to share with them the comedy that I got to witness today - the most fun I had in Slughorn's class for a while now. The homework assignment was given shortly after, and I scribbled down the pages that each student in the room was expected to read.

I packed everything as speedily as I could, dreading being held up any longer than I needed to. Lunch period was coming up, and I knew my stomach was about ready to ache from its emptiness. I wanted a cold pasta. That was my craving.

I threw my heavy bag over my shoulder as I bolted for the door, though I couldn't help but notice Slughorn had insisted for his trouble student to stay behind. I watched in amusement as Ellouise was being lectured for her disruption, all while my feet still moved for the exit of the dungeon. Then, my body slammed into something - or rather, someone.

I stumbled back, ready to holler at whoever it was that ran into me, but as I saw the familiar face that only looked back in amusement at me, I bit back my sour words before they erupted.

"Oh, sorry, Lucius. I wasn't paying attention."

Lucius Malfoy was a year above me, but he was the sort of young man that drew the attention of every girl he passed by. It didn't matter how old or young they were. Their eyes went a-flutter, and even in a silent room, one could hear the sighs of affection and amazement. He was attractive, certainly, and he held himself as an aristocratic Malfoy should. I just liked his hair.

"Narcissa. It's good to see you, too." He simply grinned, and he was passing into the room without another word. It seemed he wanted to talk to the Potions Master, but he waited patiently from a distance while Slughorn finished addressing Miss Greengrass. I sneaked out of the dungeon and down the hall, letting out a small huff. I wasn't usually this clumsy. Why did I have to bump into Malfoy, of all people? Couldn't it have been someone I could have easily snapped at without any shame?

I skipped up the stony steps that would take me into the Entrance Hall, then hurried across into the Great Hall. There were a few people here already - primarily a small handful of students here and there. I could see Emma Vanity trying to flirt with Rodolphus, who seemed to hold very little interest in the girl, even though she was exceptionally pretty. However, I already knew that Rodolphus would soon be marrying my oldest sister. Bellatrix was very lucky to wed into such a family as Lestrange. They were not only wealthy, but also the ideal image of pure-blood - absolutely untainted.

Placing myself in a lonely spot at the Slytherin table, I gladly helped myself to a plate of tortellini and tomatoes. I loved food, even if my lithe figure didn't suggest it. I hoped I never ended up to look like that Gryffindor pig, Bertha Jorkins. Mother had always informed me and my sisters that we had to be careful with our eating habits, lest our metabolisms couldn't keep up anymore. I desperately hoped the day would never come where I had to starve myself just to keep from going a size up!

"Cissy, there you are," came Bellatrix's voice from my left. She appeared to have just arrived, as she certainly wasn't here before. "Slow down on that food, or you'll choke."

My sister could always be a bit of a bossy individual, but I always knew she tried to look out for my best interest, regardless. While she did like to take charge, she still cared for me and Andromeda. It wasn't always easy hearing her tell me what to do, though. I was able to make most decisions on my own, after all.

"I'm starving, Bella. I didn't eat breakfast, mind you."

"And why not?" Bellatrix insisted, plopped herself beside me.

"Well..." I didn't exactly want to admit I had slept in and nearly missed Herbology. "I was up all night finishing that essay for History of Magic." It was due today. I knew I had a bad habit of procrastinating when it came to certain assignments (especially tedious ones like long papers), but I rarely had a problem with getting them turned in on time. Thanks to Regina, one of my fellow housemates, I managed to finish the assigned with at least some decency.

History was not exactly my forte, after all.

"Did you see Vanity all over Rodolphus?" I asked her, concerned about my sister feeling threatened by the fellow Slytherin.

"What of it?" Bellatrix asked carelessly, snatching up a piece of bread from the bowl in front of her before she would perch back down again.

"You don't care?" I asked, relatively confused.

"Just because mother says I have to marry him, doesn't mean goblin gunk. He can do what he wants. In the meantime, so can I."

"Don't you love him?" I inquired, though admittedly, I never really saw Bellatrix and Rodolphus spend much time together. I understood their marriage had been arranged between our parents and his to keep to the tradition of marrying for the sake of blood purity. I just anticipated there would be more of an attempt to make it work out.

I saw her smile. "No. My heart belongs to no man."

She was so independent - so strong. Everyday, I saw myself want to be just like Bellatrix. She was skilled in everything she did, and on top of that, relied on no one but herself. I found I was smiling, too. As long as Bella was happy, so was I.

"So, Greengrass finally got it from Slughorn today."

"Oh?" Now, Bellatrix seemed interested, and I was more than happy to tell her what had happened in Potions. I was pretty sure that even amidst my embarrassment of running into Malfoy, I had heard the professor assign her a page to write on the chapter they were all required to look over. For someone who always seemed to get her way, today had been less than perfect for Greengrass. "Good," my sister concluded, though I watched her smug grin fade as she looked behind me towards the door. "Why is she talking to him?"

At first, I wasn't sure if perhaps my sister finally decided to show envy towards Emma Vanity, but as I turned my head to look towards the doors, I saw I was entirely off. Andromeda seemed to be in deep conversation with a boy, both of them side-by-side as they entered the Great Hall. I never noticed the young man in Gryffindor robes and dark hair before, and so my guess was as good as Bella's.

"Who is he?" I asked, forgetting I was still holding my pasta-loaded fork.

"Tonks. I think he's a couple of years older than her, but he's most definitely muggle-born."

My blood boiled at the thought of my second sister associating herself with mudbloods. Soon, we watched as they went their separate ways, and the cheery smile on Andromeda's face made my stomach turn all the more. "Who was that, Andy?" Though I knew the answer to my own question through Bellatrix, I was curious as to how she might answer.

"Don't be silly, Narcissa. Tonks is doing some homework for me, that's all." Andromeda casually sat down in front of Bellatrix, who had yet to say anything. She set up a plate of food, but she wasn't oblivious to the firm looks from her siblings. "What? I'm serious!"

"I sure hope so," Bellatrix's tone sounded almost threatening. "Are we all falling behind on our assignments now?"

"Bella, don't be like that," I pleaded, and I set down my fork. Suddenly, I wasn't feeling very hungry anymore. "Besides, summer is almost here. All I have to worry about are the O.W.L.s."

Although I wasn't feeling very confident about my exam for History of Magic.

"Oh, don't remind me," Andromeda complained. "I've been studying so much, I think I forgot everything." I didn't doubt it. I would see Andromeda curled up in the common room almost every night with her nose buried in a book - primarily Defense Against The Dark Arts. I used to think she was just a bookworm, but come to find out, she really just wanted to do well in school to have a promising career - as did a lot of students. Quietly, I finished up my plate of tortellini - or at least, what I could of it. Test anxiety was starting to sneak up on me, though the second-to-last week of school wasn't even here yet.

After lunch was History of Magic, which meant I could finally unload the six-page essay I had been struggling with these past, few days. I actually had finished it last week, to be fair, but when a couple of first-years had been chasing each other through the common room, they spilled ink all over the parchment. Tergeo didn't work, either. It only made all of the ink on the paper disappear, not just what was freshly splashed. I couldn't describe how infuriated I was that night. I gave up on it, and then, I eventually forgot about it until the night before last.

The end of the day couldn't come soon enough, though towards the closure of dinner, I had recalled that today was Friday, which meant I had one more class. I had Astronomy at midnight with Professor Vela, and usually, I would try to sneak in a nap before then. Truth was, Astronomy was probably the only class I really enjoyed. I just despised the fact that it had to be so inconveniently scheduled at nighttime.

Yet, how else could one stargaze?