It had happened on a Monday - an extraordinarily ordinary day by all accounts. Quinn Fabray had just resettled into her usual bed in the Slytherin dormitories and had gathered her books, parchment, and quills in her leather shoulder bag and cauldron for the first day of classes. After earning eight Outstanding O., it was going to be a busy sixth year.

She met up with her friends Pansy Parkinson and Santana Lopez in the Slytherin common room, who had rounded up some impressionable first years that were carrying their school supplies for them. Quinn only smirked at her friends and handed an eager first year her bag and heavy duty cauldron. First years were so useful…

They strode down the castle corridors to their first and arguably easiest class of the day - Potions. Sure, their head of house, Severus Snape, had finally clenched Defense Against the Dark Arts position, but the new professor had also been a Slytherin and Slytherins stuck together. The only downside to Potions was that it was shared with the Gryffindor House, which was filled with the most pompously "brave" people Quinn had ever come across. Well, except Draco.

"Morning Quinnie," Draco greeted Quinn as her group joined his table along with his dim-witted friends, Crabbe and Goyle. Draco stretched his arms and puffed out his chest, showing off his prefect's badge. "You know, if you ever want to use the prefect's bathroom…"

"We're cousins, Draco," Quinn stated dryly as she sat down and the first year who had carried her school supplies laid out Quinn's Potions book neatly in front of her and pre-heated her cauldron. Quinn dismissed the first year dully with a wave of her hand.

"Only by marriage," Draco retorted, keeping his leering eyes at Quinn's lowly buttoned shirt with a loose green and silver tie. Quinn tightened her tie and cleared her throat, signaling Santana to kick Draco swiftly under the table. When he cried out in pain, Quinn smiled. "Now that that's out of the way, I hope you will focus on more important things, like - oh, I don't know - the Dark Lord's wishes?"

Quinn lifted an eyebrow, and Draco only whimpered in reply.

The new professor, Horace Slughorn, began class soon afterwards. He had only started introducing himself when two of the most troublesome and annoyingly idealistic Gryffindors suddenly entered the classroom - Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. They muttered something about not having books and Professor Slughorn quickly directed them toward the supply cabinet for temporary ones.

"Now as I was saying, I have prepared some concoctions this morning," Professor Slughorn continued. "Any ideas what these might be?"

A girl standing in the front dressed in robes the scarlet color of Gryffindor quickly shot up her hand. "Sir!"

Quinn rolled her eyes. Hermione Granger. Typical.

Santana caught Quinn's eye as Hermione deftly explained each prepared potion. Santana moved her mouth silently with exaggerated wide eyes, mocking Hermione's eagerness and know-it-all attitude. Quinn and Pansy giggled quietly until Professor Slughorn assigned everyone to attempt to create a Draught of Living Death.

Quinn smiled to herself as she turned her textbook to page 10 to find the potion details. Potions came easily to her - all you had to do, after all, was follow the instructions. As she began preparing the ingredients and adding them into her cauldron, Quinn couldn't help but notice the frazzled look that seemed to slowly overcome Hermione, who was a few tables away with Harry and Ron. It was quite unusual, Quinn reluctantly admitted to herself, for Hermione to be frazzled at anything.

At first it appeared Hermione simply couldn't get any juice out of her sopophorous bean, then Hermione's potion seemed to be stirred one too many times in the wrong direction and contained a few too many ingredients. Her usual bushy hair grew wild and her face became smudged with ink as she scribbled notes and consulted her textbook. You should listen to your friend, Harry Potter, Quinn thought to herself darkly, as Hermione's potion bubbled a thick dark paste instead of the clear liquid resting in Harry's cauldron.

But seeing the utter failure of Hermione Granger seemed to Quinn… unusually cute? No, impossible. Inconceivable. Hermione was an arrogant bookworm who thought herself brighter than anyone at Hogwarts, and she was a fool siding on the losing side in the Wizard's War against Lord Voldemort. He was going to win, couldn't they see? It would be far better to join him now and survive rather than fight a useless war and die.

Quinn forcefully pushed all thoughts of Hermione out of her head and avoided looking in her direction when she turned in her cauldron at the end of class. Unfortunately her attempt at Living Death remained the faintest shade of lilac, losing against Harry's perfect draught. As Quinn and her friends filed out at the end of class, they passed by Professor Slughorn's cauldron of Amortentia and each girl caught a slight whiff.

Santana smiled to herself as she smelled the expected - a mixture of sweat, blood, and tears. Pansy smelled expensive cologne and the Quidditch field.

Quinn halted half a step when unexpected smells came over her - Fresh parchment, quill ink, and the musty scent of old leather-bound books.