September 1st, 1991

Kings' Cross Station

"I really don't want to."

"Come on, we have to prove our theory correct," Blaise complained, dragging her down the hall. "He probably wants to meet you, anyway."

"Okay, but I don't want to," Belle repeated, looking back to glare at Theo and Harry, who had abandoned her in favor of finding them a compartment with Daphne, who had gotten there at the same time as them. "Blaise- ow!"

"We were right!"

"No, you prat, you're hurting my hand," she snapped, tugging it away from him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders instead and continued pulling her off of the train until they reached the Malfoys. He stared directly at her and grinned victoriously when she winced, feeling the anxiety and headache come on strong.

"Lord Malfoy," Blaise greeted politely. "Lady Malfoy."

"Hello, Blaise," Lady Malfoy smiled softly. "Who is your friend?"

"Belle," Draco nodded with a bit of a smile. "You know Blaise?"

"They stayed with us for the last month," Blaise explained. "Will you be sitting with us? Belle said you invited her to."

"Of course," Draco nodded when his father gave him a stern look.

"Well, why don't you get on the train?" his mother suggested with a soft smile. "Remember to write us tonight, Draco."

"I will," he assured them. He hugged his mother and nodded at his father before following Blaise, who was basically a ball of pure energy, onto the train. They only walked a few compartments down before they spotted their friends.

"So?" Theo asked, looking between them.

"We were right!" Blaise grinned. When Belle gave him a dirty look, he coughed. "Very sad, of course, but we were right."

"About what?" Draco questioned, sitting down next to Theo. Belle took her spot in between Harry and Daphne, and Blaise sat on Theo's other side.

"Nothing."

"Death Eaters give her a headache!"

"Blaise."

"Excuse me?" Draco asked after a moment, his eyes falling on the girl in question. "What does he mean?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I've had a few weird encounters and they've come to the conclusion that I'm allergic to Death Eaters."

"But like how can you tell?" Daphne wondered. "How does that work?"

"We don't know," Harry answered.

"I still think it's ridiculous," Belle stated clearly. "Maybe I just have good intuition."

"Nah, it's magic," Blaise assured her.

"Theo," Belle sighed. "You know how ridiculous this is."

"I mean, you get anxious and get a headache every time you're around my dad," he pointed out with an apologetic smile. "And those things with Travers and Bellatrix-,"

"Aunt Bellatrix?" Draco asked, still confused. "Potter, what are they talking about?"

"Okay," she sighed, shooting a glare at Blaise. "So when Harry and I were three, we were at a public pool with our friends and there was this woman there with this crazy black, curly hair and grey eyes. When I looked at her, I got so anxious I felt sick and I got this horrible headache. A little later, she tried to drown me."

"Death Eater number one," Blaise counted, ignoring the dirty look he got for it.

"Then a few years ago, a man tried to push me in front of a bus," Harry added. "She got the same headache and feeling then, too."

"Death Eater number two."

"And then when I met Lord Nott, it came back," she continued. "And it happens every time I'm around him. It gets worse when we're alone talking, though that only happened the once on accident."

"Death Eater number three," Blaise said. "And then your dad just now, Death Eater number four."

"Merlin," Daphne shook her head. "You're allergic to Death Eaters!"

"Is no one going to question why Death Eaters tried to kill them?" Draco wondered with a deep frown.

"Draco… Harry supposedly killed the Dark Lord," Theo told him like he was stupid. "Don't you think that just maybe some of his followers are a little pissed about that?"

"Oh. But how can you be allergic to them?"

"I don't think she's allergic," Theo told them, rolling his eyes at Blaise. "I think it's some form of mind magic, maybe. Some sort of Seer."

"That's ridiculous," Belle said. "You can't see the future, Theo."

"Then how do you know about Death Eaters? How did you know about them before you even knew they existed?"

"I don't know," she said slowly. "But it isn't seeing the future."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Have you seen my toad?"

"...what?"

The frazzled boy looked around the compartment in panic. "My toad, Trevor. He's gone missing."

"There's no toad in here, Longbottom," Draco rolled his eyes. Belle's lips thinned but she offered the boy a smile.

"He isn't here but I'll help you look. I'm Belle."

"Hey, bring me back a pumpkin juice," Blaise requested. She took the money for him and slipped out of the compartment after the boy, who had introduced himself as Neville. They split up, Neville going to the right and Belle to the left.

She searched three empty compartments before she found one with three boys in it and slid the door open with a soft knock. "Hello. You haven't seen a toad, have you? A boy's lost one."

"Not here," one of them, a blonde boy, told her. "He was sitting with us when he lost it."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she smiled and went to close the door before her eyes caught on a head of bright orange hair. "You don't happen to be a Weasley, do you?"

"Ron Weasley," he introduced curiously.

"I'm Belle Potter," she told him. "I was mistaken as a Weasley sibling a few times."

"Your hair is red, his is orange," the blonde boy pointed out. The other boy rolled his eyes.

"She probably knows that, Seamus."

"And what if she didn't, Dean?"

"Er, nice to meet you," Ron said before pausing. "Belle Potter… Merlin, you're Belle Potter! Where's Harry?"

Belle shifted, uncomfortable with the interaction. She hated that everyone knew who she was already. "He's with our friends. I'd better keep looking for the toad, so…"

With that, she slid the door shut and rushed off, glancing in a few compartments before opening another one. There were only two boys in there and they were both a bit overweight and made her uncomfortable.

"Hello, have you seen a toad? A boy's lost one."

"Who're you?" one of the boys asked, looking her over in disgust.

"I'm just looking for a toad," she said, unwilling to go through the same awkward conversation. "But I see there isn't one here, so I'll be going."

It was when she turned to leave the compartment that the other boy grabbed her wrist and tugged her back. She felt a pop in the wrist and bit down on her tongue like she did anytime she was injured.

"Don't be rude," he told her with a slimy grin. "Not to your superiors."

"My superiors?" she asked, shocked. She tore her hand out of his grip hard and sucked in a short breath when the pain bloomed from her wrist up her arm a little. "You're students, just like me. Not my superiors."

"We're purebloods," the first boy clarified. "You're just a half-blood."

Belle turned on her heel to leave and gasped when this time, they grabbed her by her hair and tugged her back. The strength with which they pulled her made her gasp and grab onto the wall to keep from falling, lighting up her wrist with the hot pain. "Let me leave."

"You're disrespecting us," the second boy said. "Isn't that right, Crabbe?"

"It is, Goyle," Crabbe confirmed. "We don't want to take offense to that. You should apologize."

"All I did was refuse to tell you my name. You already seem to know who I am," she told them with a glare. "Let me go or I will scream."

Reluctantly, Goyle released her hair, and she backed out of the compartment quickly, barely catching the threatening tone but missing the words. She rushed down the train and when she got to her compartment, she slammed the door closed behind her and took her seat, biting her lip hard.

"Merlin, what happened to you?" Daphne asked in concern at the sight of her lightly shaking form and her newly messy hair.

"I fell," she answered. Harry's eyes sharpened on her, fully aware she was lying.

"Belle, what was it?" he asked her quietly. "What happened?"

"I just met some boys," she said, avoiding eye contact. "It's fine."

Daphne touched her hand in concern and Belle pulled it back against her chest with a gasp, surprised at how badly it hurt. "Belle."

"What happened to you?" Theo asked her. His dark, concerned eyes made her waver and eventually sigh.

"I walked in to ask them if they'd seen the toad and when I wouldn't tell them my name and tried to leave, one of them grabbed my wrist and pulled me in. It might be sprained or broken, I'm not sure. It feels like a sprain."

"And the hair?" Blaise asked quietly. She was surprised by the heated anger in his eyes.

"They grabbed my hair after that. I threatened to scream and they let me leave. I don't even know why they wanted me to answer them. They already knew who I was. Apparently, I disrespected them. They said they're my superiors because they're purebloods."

"Do you know who it was?" Harry asked, keeping his voice as steady as possible.

"I don't know. They called each other Crabbe and Goyle."

The purebloods all looked at Draco, whose eyes flashed angrily. "You're sure?"

"Um, yes?"

"Even those fools know better!" he said sharply, jumping out of his seat.

"I don't understand, you know them?"

"They've been friends since they were really young," Theo answered her. "I'm surprised you're not sitting with them, actually."

"I can't believe they'd do that," Draco muttered. Belle was surprised when he took her hand gently within his own and waved his wand over it, muttering quietly. Some of the pain abated and she felt her shoulders relax. "That should help until we get to school and you can get it checked out."

"Thank you," she blinked.

"I bet their fathers put them up to it," Daphne suggested. "They'd never be willing to align themselves with you guys regardless of how prejudiced you were. Their parents are some of the angrier ones about the Dark Lord's death."

"I didn't get the pumpkin juice," Belle muttered after a short, uncomfortable moment. She slipped out before they could stop her and it was Harry that stopped Blaise from following her in concern.

"She doesn't like to be worried about," he told him. "Just leave her. She'll be okay."

"This is shit," Blaise decided. No one disagreed with him in the slightest.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Hogwarts

The six friends went on the same boat and Theo nearly shoved Blaise off when he started rocking it side to side to scare them. Daphne and Harry wouldn't have minded shoving the boy off the boat either. It was only the intervention of Belle and Draco that stopped their friend from going for an unexpected swim in the chilly water.

"It's beautiful," Belle commented as they approached the Great Hall doors. After what felt like an eternity, McGonagall led them into the Great Hall to stand as a group at the front of the steps. The woman walked up behind the stool and picked up a list.

"Abbott, Hannah."

The blonde girl walked up nervously and sat down. The hat touched her head for a moment before it shouted out her House.

"Hufflepuff!"

After a few cheers, they moved on.

"Bones, Susan!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Boot, Terry!"

"Ravenclaw!"

"Brocklehurst, Mandy!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Brown, Lavender!"

"Gryffindor!"

"Bulstrode, Millicent!"

"Slytherin!"

"Chang, Cho!"

"Ravenclaw!"

The list went on and on. Crabbe and Goyle were both sent to Slytherin, something Belle noted hesitantly. Daphne was the first of the friends to be Sorted, and she was sent to Slytherin, something that didn't seem to surprise her in the least. Next up was Draco. The hat barely touched his head before it sent him to Slytherin. Theo took a little longer but eventually went to join their friends.

And then it was Belle's turn.

"Potter, Belle!"

A few hushed whispers broke out at the first of the two very famous names being called. Belle sucked in a deep breath and made her way up there. The hat touched her head and she frowned at the slight pain of it in her mind.

"Oh, very interesting. So many things you've yet to learn. You love to learn."

"I do," she confirmed slowly.

"But your upbringing and your friends point you on a different path," he told her.

"Why?"

"Oh… you'll find out."

"Or you could tell me now."

"Slytherin!"

The hat was pulled from her head and she took a deep breath and moved over to be sandwiched between Draco and Theo. Daphne was across from them, and the group turned their attention back to the front just in time to see Harry sit down. Just like Draco, the hat barely touched his head before it spoke.

"Slytherin!"

Harry moved over to the table as quick as he could, placing himself down next to Daphne and across from his sister. They watched the rest of the Sorting together, all of them quietly annoyed that Blaise was dead last. He was also sent to Slytherin, keeping the group of friends easily intact.

When the food arrived, they all tucked in excitedly, ready to fill up and get some sleep. The train ride was a long eight hours and had left them all exhausted.

Belle looked up at the staff table as she waited for the elves to bring dessert and looked along. She saw the muggle studies professor first and moved down the line. Hagrid was there next to Flitwick, who was next to Dumbledore. Next to him was McGonagall, and on her other side was-

Belle was surprised to find him staring openly at her. She tilted her head curiously, waiting for him to break their strange, accidental eye contact. He seemed perfectly content to let it continue, so she took the time to take him in. He wore all black and had shoulder length, straight black hair, and pale skin.

Draco grabbed her arm a little too rough and her head whipped around as she yanked it away from him, hissing in pain. She didn't notice the way the man's eyes sharpened on her, having caught the obviously pained motion.

"That's the hurt one," she told him in a whisper.

"I know," he assured her, his wand peeking from under the table. "That numbing spell would've worn off by now. Doesn't it hurt?"

"Nothing I can't handle," she told him, pushing his wand away. "Thank you. I'll ask someone about a nurse or something after the feast."

"Let me go with you," he requested. When she went to argue, he put a hand up. "I feel… responsible. I was friends with them."

"What, you aren't anymore?"

"No," he stared at her like she was crazy. "My friendship with them was born of old alliances. Regardless of the fact that Father wishes for that to change, I want it to change. I've never liked them much and they hurt you."

"Okay," she said softly. She was startled to find that, when she looked back at the staff table, the man was still staring at her. She glanced back at Draco. "Who is that man looking at me?"

Draco glanced around her and blinked in surprise. "That's my godfather, Severus Snape. He's the Potions Professor. Why is he looking at you like that?"

"I don't know," she muttered. "It's very unsettling."

"He was a Death Eater," he told her quietly. "Do you feel anything?"

"No," she frowned. "That's odd."

"Maybe it's a coincidence?"

"Maybe."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

After the feast, the Slytherin prefect led Belle and Draco down up a floor to the infirmary. She left them there and rushed back down to the dorms, uninterested in them.

"What can I do for you dears?" Madame Pomfrey asked curiously.

"I think I sprained my wrist on the train," Belle told her. "It hurts to be touched or put weight on."

Madame Pomfrey hummed and waved her wand over the wrist, ticking her tongue. "Yes, definitely sprained. I'll get you a pain potion and a brace. How did you do this?"

"I just fell," she lied quickly. "I'm quite clumsy."

Madame Pomfrey accepted the answer and swiftly left to find the necessary items.

"That was a lot easier than I expected," she admitted to her friend. "I thought she'd ask me more questions."

"She's supposed to just heal without question in most cases," Draco explained. "There are very few things she has to ask you about. I'd still be wary of her, though. Try not to get hurt too much."

"Well it's not like I plan on spraining my wrist every day," she rolled her eyes.

"Here you are," Madame Pomfrey said, passing her the potion. While she took it with one hand, the mediwitch placed the brace on her other one. It had an instant numbing effect, much to her relief. "This will need to stay on for three weeks. You had a particularly bad sprain. The brace is magical so it will help to encourage strengthening the bone, but you will have to be careful. This wrist will sprain or break easier now that it's been sprained before."

"Is it like that for all broken bones?" Belle wondered curiously.

"Yes, so try not to break anything else. Go on back to your common rooms, now."

She hummed as they left. She and Harry had both broken bones before and they'd only ever been taken to the doctor because their teachers had begun noticing.

"Miss Potter. Draco."

"Oh," Belle gasped, tensing at the sudden presence. Draco touched her arm gently, a surprisingly comforting gesture. "Hello."

"Do you have a pass?" Snape asked. Draco handed it over. "The infirmary," he said, eyeing her wrist curiously.

"I just slipped is all," she assured him in a rush. "Are we in trouble, Professor? Madame Pomfrey said we should be fine with that pass."

"I only wished to ensure you are alright."

"Oh… thank you?"

He handed the pass back to his godson. "I will see you both in class."

"Goodnight," Draco said, pulling Belle away quickly. Once they'd gotten down the stairs to the dungeons, he frowned at her. "That was weird."

"Why?"

"I don't know, he was acting weird," he shrugged, leading her into their common room. Their friends were gathered on the floor by the fire and they joined them. "He doesn't really do that."

"Do what, exactly?" She questioned, confused.

"He went out of his way to make sure you were okay," he explained. "How did he even know you were hurt?"

"I don't… know," she frowned.

"What happened?" Harry wondered, ducking the exploding snap game Daphne and Blaise were playing.

"Snape came to see if she was okay."

"Huh," Theo frowned. "That's a bit… out of character for him."

"He was staring at me weird, too," Belle added. "Why do you think?"

"Well, he was in school with your parents," Draco said slowly. "Maybe he knew them."

"How do you know that?"

"Math, logic. I know how old he is and I know how old your parents were when they died, so they must've gone to school together."

"If he wanted to see if you're okay, he probably knew them fondly," Daphne said as she watched Blaise's face be covered in soot from the game, having lost. She looked over at them. "You could probably ask him about them."

"Or we could not," Harry suggested. At Belle's incredulous stare, he shrugged. "He was glaring at me at the end of the feast."

"Now that makes no sense."

"I dunno," Blaise shrugged. "Seems more in character for him than being nice."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

September 2nd, 1991

Potions Classroom

"There will be no foolish wand waving or silly incantations in this class."

"Man, he really likes a dramatic entrance," Blaise whispered to Belle, who smacked his arm lightly.

"As such, I don't expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion making. However, for those select few," Snape paused to look at the front row that held Belle, Draco, and Blaise. Harry, Theo, and Daphne had been stuck behind them purely because of the seating chart that had been laid out when they entered the room. "That possess the predisposition, I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper on death… then again, maybe some of you have come to Hogwarts in possession of abilities so formidable that you feel confident enough to not pay attention."

"Harry," Belle hissed, throwing her hair tie at him to get his attention. His head shot up in surprise to find Snape glaring at him.

"Mister Potter… tell me, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood? You don't know?"

Belle looked back to see him just staring dumbly, looking mostly confused. She raised her hand quietly, hoping to save him from the moment.

"Miss Potter," he called. "You have the answer for your brother?"

"It would be the Draught of Living Death, sir," she told him. "But we're not meant to cover that potion until sixth year."

"Correct. It seems you've gotten the brains."

"I don't think that's fair-,"

"Where would you look if I asked you to find me a beazel?" he asked her. Somehow, his hyper-focus on Harry had shifted to her.

"A goat's stomach," she answered easily. "We also don't learn that until sixth year."

"And what is the difference between monkswood and wolfsbane?"

"Oh," she blinked. "Well, nothing, not unless you mean the potion. Monkswood is wolfsbane, which is an ingredient in a potion by the same name that helps werewolves control themselves during the full moon. It's also called aconite. That one isn't until third year."

"And yet you knew all the answers."

"I read a lot over the summer."

The class moved on normally after that, learning the very basics of the subject. They were given an essay to write and, it being the last class of the day, the students breathed out a sigh of relief when it was over. When Snape asked Belle to stay behind, she did, though all of her friends and her brother did as well.

"The rest of you are dismissed," he told them, his piercing gaze intimidating to everyone but Draco, who was well used to it. After each of them checked with her to make sure it was okay, they left with the instructions to head back to the common room when she was done. Once they were alone, she could see the man preparing himself, but she spoke before he had the chance to.

"You tried to trap him."

"Excuse me?"

"Harry isn't stupid, Professor. You couldn't expect most first years to know half of what you asked, but you tried to ask him. Why?"

"You knew the answers," he pointed out again. "It is not ridiculous to hope that he would be as studious as his sister."

"Harry likes to act, I like to learn. We're both smart, Professor. You can take points away if you'd like, but I do not appreciate you trying to trick him or make him look dumb. What do you have against him? Is it our parents?"

"Your parents," he repeated coolly. "What led you to that conclusion?"

"Draco," she explained. "He told us you were in school with our parents. He thinks you might've been friends with them."

Snape stared at her for a long, uncomfortable moment. She felt like he was searching her soul for something and, apparently, found it. "Your mother was my best friend. James Potter was not."

"So… so you have a problem with Harry because you didn't like our dad?" she frowned. "But Harry isn't our dad. He's brilliant, he's his own person. He's a good person, Professor. I had been hoping to ask if you knew them, maybe if you could tell us about them since Aunt Petunia never bothered to-,"

"You live with Petunia?" he asked her, horrified. She frowned.

"Yes? We were given to her when our parents died."

"Lily disowned her after your grandparents died," he told her. "She never wanted Petunia near her or her friends and, assumedly, her family. Whoever put you there was mistaken."

Belle felt shocked and a little dizzy. They were never supposed to go there. The first eleven years of their life, the years they'd been degraded, mistreated, ignored, hated, and treated like slaves… weren't supposed to happen. She grabbed onto the table nearby and wondered if she was as pale as she assumed. "Oh. We just assumed… there was no one else."

"Many people in the magical world would have had fair claim to you both," he denied. "Lily and I parted ways before school ended, but I knew her for many years. She'd never have wanted you around Petunia. I knew Petunia as well. She was one of the most despicable people I've ever met."

"I- we didn't…" she trailed off, shaking her head numbly. She felt an uncomfortable amount of anger. "Who… put us there?"

Snape stared at her green eyes for a moment and she saw his reluctance fall away. "Albus Dumbledore."

"But… why? Why would he leave us with them? Didn't they have a will or- or anything? If other people could've taken us, why didn't they? What- why did-,"

"Sit down," he instructed, looking actually concerned at how worked up she was. She did as he said, sitting in the chair at the desk she was standing next to. To her surprise, he waved his wand, pulling a chair over for him, and he sat down across from her. "I am going to ask you a very serious question, Miss Potter, and I would like you to answer me honestly. Do your guardians mistreat you?"

"What?" she breathed, her heart skipping a beat with fear. "Why would- why do you think that?"

"Please answer the question."

"No, they- they don't, we're okay. We're fine. It's fine," she answered, trying to control herself. She was still reeling with the revelation that everything they'd endured had been the fault of not their parents but rather Albus Dumbledore, the man that was running their school. "Everything is fine."

Snape's face visibly fell, and it was the most expressive face he'd made so far. "I do wish I believed you."

"Professor, I- we're okay."

"It is possible to feel okay and still suffer abuse."

"But if they were mistreating us, don't you think someone would take us away from them?" she tried. He shook his head, crushing her hopes of ending the conversation and running back to the common room.

"Not if no one knew," he said, pausing. "Not if no one cared. Please tell me the truth, Miss Potter."

"We're here," she said so softly that he barely heard her. "And we don't have to see them until summer because she doesn't want us to come home for Christmas or Easter."

"What does she do?"

"Nothing that bad," she assured him. "Mostly hits or something if we don't finish our chores or do something wrong. It's nothing we can't handle. We get injured sometimes but we always heal really fast."

"That would be your magic," Snape said. He paused with a small frown. "I do not suppose Petunia told you about your magic?"

"Hagrid did," she shook her head. "That's when we found out why she hates Mum."

"I cannot pretend that removing you from their custody would be easy," he admitted. "Dumbledore put you there, which means he wants you there for some reason or another."

"Blaise told us as much," she agreed. "He said that it would take a powerful Ancient and Noble House like the Blacks or Malfoys to remove us properly."

"Mister Zabini knows?"

"So does Theo. We stayed with them for the last month of the summer," she explained. At his stare, she shrugged. "Aunt Petunia told us not to come back until school is out. We were going to stay in Diagon Alley, but Theo's dad invited us to stay. For alliances, Theo said."

Snape seemed to be processing her words, so she fell silent. She'd been terrified, but the way he was genuinely concerned for their safety made her relax, as well as the way she didn't feel judged.

"If you would ever like to… talk about anything," he said slowly. "Then feel free to come to me. If you are ever injured, I will heal you."

Belle felt an overwhelming sense of gratefulness. "Thank you, Professor."

"Are you alright?" he asked her. She looked and felt much more stable, so she nodded. "You may return to your friends now."

Belle got to her feet and grabbed her bag. "Thank you."

"I will see you in class."

She began making her way out of the room but stopped at the door, turning around. "Professor?"

"Yes?"

"Stop being mean to Harry because he looks like our dad. We can't help whatever happened between you two, but we can be our own people, and we are. I'm not our mum, and he's not our dad."

Snape's lips thinned, but he nodded curtly. Having already pushed her luck twice, she raced out of the room and down the hall. When she didn't find her friends in the common room, she made her way up to first year boys' dorms where they were hanging out together.

"Merlin, you look sick," Daphne frowned. "What did he do?"

"Harry, he knows," she said, ignoring the presence of Daphne and Draco, neither of whom knew. "It didn't- I didn't mean to, he just sort of… we were never supposed to go to the Dursley's, Harry. Mum hated Aunt Petunia. We weren't supposed to go to them."

Harry froze, and she could count the emotions as they crossed his face. Shock, horror, anger, and confusion all flew by before he settled on anger. "He said that?"

She nodded quickly. "I sort of… freaked out. I got a little dizzy and he asked me, and…"

"Shit, we've gotta teach you to lie," Blaise told her. "What's he gonna do?"

"Nothing?" she frowned. "Help us, I think. He said it would be hard to get us out, so-,"

"What are you talking about?" Draco asked her, Daphne nodding along. "What's wrong with your aunt?"

"She treats us like shit," Harry said sharply, gaining a glare from his sister. "I can't believe you told him. He's an ass!"

"I also… sort of told him off," she winced.

"You what?" Draco choked out, blinking rapidly.

"I told him that I'm not our mum and Harry isn't our dad," she explained. "I guess he had some sort of issue with our dad. I told him to knock it off and then I sorta ran away because I just yelled at a teacher."

"Yeah, that's fair."

"My head hurts," Harry complained.

"Yeah, you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon and you just felt more things than you have your entire life," she quipped, earning herself a smack. Harry wasn't great at expressing much more than concern or anger, something she'd pointed out many times over the years. It had become a bit of a joke to them.

"This has been an eventful day," Daphne hummed. "I miss Astoria."

"She's violent," Theo said.

"Yeah," Daphne agreed. "I miss her."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

September 29th, 1991

Quidditch Pitch

Belle watched Draco throw the ball, her hair sparking. Harry, of course, hopped on his broom after insulting their friend and flew after it. While he did that, his twin marched over to Draco. "You're such a prat! Would you like it if I threw your bloody hair gel across the Quidditch pitch? Merlin knows you don't need it!"

"She's attacking the hair," Blaise muttered to Daphne as they watched their friends argue. "She must be pissed."

"It's just a ball, Potter, relax," he waved her off. She let out an angry huff and sped past him, abandoning the flying class, her anger driving her.

"Should we… follow her?" Theo wondered.

"Nah, I don't like getting too close when she's this angry," Blaise shook his head.

Belle, meanwhile, was stomping down a flight of stairs until she reached the dungeons, where she took a sharp right and kept walking. The potions classroom was empty, it being a Saturday, but she saw Snape brewing a potion in the back. She barely remembered to knock before entering the room.

"I am busy-," Snape cut off, taking in her flushed cheeks and sparking hair. "What happened?"

"Draco!" She threw her arms up, pausing to compose herself. "I'm sorry. Draco took Neville's rememberall and threw it while on his broom. Harry had to go after it and he did this crazy flip that could've killed him and how he's so good on a broom I'll never know but- the point is, Draco was bullying Neville and stole his ball and tried to break it."

"And Madame Hooch was not sufficient to work this out?"

"She took Neville to the hospital wing," she shook her head. "He fell and broke his arm. I thought our Head of House was the next logical step."

Snape put a stasis charm on his potion and stood, waving her into his office. She sat, looking around quietly. She hadn't been in there yet and it was rather nice with good furniture and a neutral but dark color pallet. "Miss Potter, you must understand that these things happen. As I wasn't there, I cannot do anything unless Neville himself brings it up to Professor McGonagall or myself."

"So what are we supposed to do?" She asked angrily. "He's being a prat!"

"Tell him as much," he suggested, somewhat amused. Her anger was very similar to Lily's in the way that she was angriest when someone was being hurt or taken advantage of. The familiarity of it was endearing. Her angry eyes turned to a pout.

"I did. He didn't really care."

"Because they are empty words," he explained. "He knows you care for him more than you care about the argument, and that you will not call him a prat once it's over."

"I wouldn't be so sure."

"My advice, Miss Potter, would be to return to the pitch and explain to him why what he did upset you. That may go much farther than calling him a prat."

"Oh," she frowned at the good advice. It surprised her, and suddenly she was glad she'd come. He hadn't dismissed her or laughed at her or even taken the side of his godson like he so easily could have. He listened, told her what to do, and was kind about it. "Okay."

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a potion to finish."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Author's Note:

Hey, I'm putting this at the end of the chapter because it's got to do with the Death Eater Allergy, which was explained further in this chapter. I'm going to explain this as clearly as I can, hopefully without any spoilers.

Basically, when Belle was a baby, someone put what are basically mental barriers in her mind that would contract painfully on her mind when she was around people that this person knew to be Death Eaters, giving her a headache and deep, unsettling anxiety. Those Death Eaters include Bellatrix, Travers, Nott, and Malfoy. It would not be the same with lesser known Death Eaters, spies, and new Death Eaters. Only the ones this person knew of, because they did it manually. It isn't a reaction to the Dark Mark at all, just the people. It's meant as a warning for her - you see them, you get as far away from them as possible. And there is a good reason it isn't the same for Harry, but that part is plot so I can't exactly explain that yet.

Normally, I hate adding authors notes to explain parts of the story. It's my goal to add them into the story itself so it's as clear as possible, but with any luck, this character won't actually be a part of the story - I say with any luck because multiple different versions of this story have been written by myself and I am having Issues keeping them out of it despite how much I really want to. This is important information because without that character, this bit won't really be explained at all.

And since, like I said, I hate putting notes at the end of the chapter, any further notes will be at the beginning.