Getting schedules the next morning took quite a bit of time as Slughorn consulted his list of who was in which year. The sixth year schedule took the longest as he dug through his copy of O.W.L scores.

"Well Ms. Deadlocke, I see that you have achieved an impressive amount of O.W.L.s and are taking an ambitious but not impossible number of courses." said Professor Slughorn as he handed her a schedule. "I look forward to having you in my class."

Aquila nodded politely. Slughorn had never acknowledged her by name before, despite being the head of Slytherin house.

Winter's lips curled in a sneer as he left. "He must be getting ready to throw his parties again this year."

"I have no interest in attending." Aquila replied.

"Why not, they're such a good networking opportunity." said Astoria.

"I don't really need to network" replied Aquila.

"But for job opportunities and a good marriage you'll have to."

Aquila shrugged. Her inheritance as a Deadlocke would not have been enough to never work if her brother and parents weren't dead, but with the full Deadlocke inheritance she would be capable of living well without ever working. However, the LeStrange inheritance made her one of the richest people in the British Isles.

"I intend to travel after I finish school. There is so much of the world to see before I settle into a career."

"An interesting choice." said Winter. "Won't your parents miss you?"

Aquila smiled bitterly. "My parents did not survive the war." she said as she stood up for class.

Astoria and Winter exchanged startled glances before moving to follow. They did all have charms together.

Professor Flitwick began the class in his usual squeaky tone, lecturing about the importance of Charms in everyday life, and the importance of being able to perform them silently. There were no actual spells taught in this class, just an introduction to the concept of silent spells and a good deal of reading. Ancient Runes was a class that dumped even more homework on Aquila, and Professor Sprout assigned what would normally be two weeks of reading in one class period by the time Herbology was done.

Aquila half ate and half read as her classmates caught up on their summers. By the time Arithmancy came around she was dreading how much homework would be assigned, but Professor Vector surprised her by doing a review.

The very last class of the day was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Ali was an imposing figure, and seemed the sort to be prone to scowling.

"Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts." he began in a brusque, American accent. "I am a retired Auror from America, which qualifies me to teach this class. The past few years have clearly taught you the importance of knowing how to defend yourself, so I will concentrate on fine-tuning your skills and educating you about the proper spells for various situations. I am unaware of your current knowledge of Defense, so the rest of the class will be taken up by a quiz." he paused to wait out the groans. "Once you are done, you may begin the assigned reading for next class." with a flick of his wand four chapters from two separate books appeared along with an essay assignment.

The quiz- or knowledge assessment, took a full hour for Aquila to fill out. A few questions on it gave her a bit of concern, and she answered them very vaguely. A few she did not answer at all, two because she did not know the answer, and a few because she did and probably should not advertise that she knew. It still gave her a good 40 minutes to start on the homework while some of her classmates were still struggling to answer the questions. Once the class was dismissed Aquila made her way to the library, grateful for the featherlight and extension charms on her bag. She worked on homework halfway through dinner before going and grabbing a bite to eat. With a look of resignation on their faces, both Astoria and Winter joined her in the library after dinner.

"I was hoping this year would be fun" complained Astoria, pouting. Winter and Aquila gave her identical looks of disbelief and she cracked open her charms text. They all left twenty minutes before 9, Winter to go do rounds, and Astoria and Aquila for the common area. Exhausted, Aquila made her way straight to bed.

The post came the next morning, lots of parents writing to their children with boxes of forgotten items. Aquila got her copy of the Daily Prophet and a deceptively small package that she suspected was charmed.

"Dear Ms. Deadlocke,

I have finally completed an inventory of all of your holdings and have enclosed a copy for you to review. At some point we will need to discuss future investment plans, vault audits, and property maintenance.

Wishing you a pleasant beginning to your Hogwarts year,

Lincoln Wellington

Estate Manager

Wellington & Sons

Aquila could not help but let out a sigh at the letter. She would finish her homework later and then go straight to reading the inventory. She had none of the training that her father had bestowed upon her brother so she was likely going to have to find or buy books on estate management. She knew that there was family magic as well, but that would not be in any books outside of family libraries.

Tucking her package into her bookbag for later Aquila made her way to the Transfiguration classroom, only stopping briefly to point some frightened first years in the proper direction after they were cornered by Peeves. Winter passed by looking a tad disgusted.

"Hufflepuffs always get lost." she complained. "Why can't you be the prefect Aquila, you already do half of the duties." she finished as they sat down.

"I'll leave you that unfortunate honor. I prefer having time to complete my Homework." Aquila replied.

Professor McGonagall swept into the classroom a moment later.

"Welcome to Advanced Transfiguration." she began. "Congratulations on passing your O.W.L.s with higher than an Acceptable. This class will be fast paced and demanding. If you find yourself unable to keep up, than perhaps this class is not for you." with a wave of her wand syllabi landed on each of their desks.

"This is the tentative Syllabus for this term. We may progress quicker than this in which case I will provide you with a revised copy. If, as Headmistresses, I am too busy to grade your essays they may be graded by the perfectly capable Professor Wells, who teaches the younger years. You may have noticed the addition of some extra Professors this year, a trend that will continue next year, especially for the non-elective classes.

Now, the principles of rematerialization is a logical place to begin after vanishing charms…"

Aquila was extremely grateful that her classes ended before lunch on Tuesdays. Double Potions was her last class of the day. Advanced Potions was a sparsely occupied class. Astoria, Easton, and Winter were present from her own house. Romilda Vane and Victoria Frobisher were from Gryffindor, along with a disgruntled Ginny Weasley, who had not passed her sixth year exams. Daniella Vale made up the single Hufflepuff in the room. There were five Ravenclaws, Isabella Sweeney, Mira Bakshi, Ivan Dolohov, Tomlyn Selwyn and Melinda Bobbin. Vale sat with the Gryffindors, leaving the three Ravenclaw girls together, the two Ravenclaw boys together and all four Slytherins together inside the steaming room. With a quick glance Aquila picked out Amortentia, Polyjuice, and Veritaserum. The last potion, if she wasn't mistaken, was Felix Felicis. Her father had tried to brew it once and called it impractically fussy.

"Well," Slughorn began. "This seating arrangement simply won't do. We are supposed to be encouraging inter-house unity!"

Professor Slughorn then proceeded to rearrange the room until it was arranged to his satisfaction. Instead of sitting with her fellow Slytherins Aquila ended up at a table with Melinda Bobbin, Ginny Weasley, and Thomlyn Selwyn. The poor Hufflepuff girl ended up with Dolohov, Winter, and Romilda Vane, who all had their own particular types of unpleasantness.

Weasley threw a sneer at Aquila as she sat down, one that Aquila returned with a mocking smirk. She had no issues with Selwyn- whose Uncle was awaiting trial- or Bobbin, whose father owned a chain of Apothecaries Aquila's own father had assisted in stocking.

"Now, take out your potions kits and scales everyone. Don't forget to take out your copy of Advanced Potion Making, it will be essential to today's potion making process as I very much doubt you have the potion we are about to brew today memorized.

Before we begin brewing, I have a few potions for you to look at. These are the kinds of potions you should be able to brew after you completing your N.E. . Even if you haven't brewed them yet, you ought to have heard of them. Now, who can tell me what this one is?" said Professor Slughorn, gesturing to a clear, odorless potion bubbling away nearby.

It took a moment before Aquila raised her hand, just beating out Bobbin. Slughorn waved a hand at her.

"That is veritaserum, characterized by being colorless and odorless with the effect of making the drinker tell the truth. It is of course toxic in large quantities and comes with the additional side effect of dizziness for the drinker."

"Very good Ms. Deadlocke. I don't believe you've ever voluntarily spoken in my class before. And this one?" Slughorn asked, pointing to a mud-like substance.

Bobbin looked puzzled, but Weasley raised her hand. Aquila recognized it by its appearance, but it was not one her father brewed.

"Yes Ms. Weasley?"

"That one is Polyjuice."

"Very good Ms. Weasley. I'm sure everyone here knows what it does. And this one?" he asked, pointing at the next one. It took Aquila to recognize its characteristic mother of pearl sheen. It was not usually sold at Apothecaries, so she was not surprised that Bobbin didn't recognize it. Weasley seemed to, but seemed disinclined to raise her hand, as did Winter. Aquila smirked, amused as no one raised their hands.

Slughorn looked around the room seeing both puzzled and reluctant looks. "Do you recognize this one Ms. Deadlocke?"

"It's Amortentia, a very powerful love potion that creates a powerful infatuation in the drinker with the person whose hair or fingernails have been added to the potion. It can be easily recognized by a characteristic mother of pearl sheen, it's characteristic spirals, and the fact it smells like what attracts people the most."

"A very thorough answer Ms. Deadlocke. Ten points to Slytherin. And five points to Gryffindor for Ms. Weasley's earlier recognition of the Polyjuice potion.

As Ms. Deadlocke pointed out, Amortentia does not create actual love, and instead creates a powerful obsession. It is therefore the most dangerous potion in this room- for those of you who are skeptical consider that an obsessive love is far more dangerous than the truth or impersonating another for an hour or so."

"And now it is time to begin."

"Sir, what's that one?" asked Ms. Vale, pointing curiously to a golden potion splashing away merrily."

Slughorn smiles, and the Slytherins were very aware that he had been waiting for someone to ask.

"Ah, yes. That one. It is a curious little potion called Felix Felicis. Would anyone like to tell me what it does?"

Surprisingly Weasley raised her hand again. "It's liquid luck."

"Very good Ms. Weasley."complemented Slughorn. "Take another five points for Gryffindor. Felix Felicis is a funny little potion that is extremely tricky to make and tends to result in a rather large explosion if made wrong, or ends up being highly toxic. If brewed correctly, as this one is, you will find that all your endeavors tend to succeed. At least until the effects wear off."

"Why don't people take it all the time?" Selwyn asked eagerly.

"Because when taken in excess it has the side effects of giddiness, recklessness, and dangerous overconfidence. It is highly toxic in large quantities even if brewed correctly and should only be taken very sparingly.

"And have you taken it Professor?" Easton Rosier asked curiously.

"Only twice in my life. I had two perfect days…" he answered dreamily. "A tiny vial of Felix Felicis is what I offer as a prize in this lesson. It is enough for twelve hours of luck, and of course is a banned substance in organized competitions, sporting events, examinations, or elections. The winner is to use it on an ordinary day only to make it extraordinary! And how do you win this fabulous prize?" he continued briskly.

"Turn to page 10 of your text and you will discover the recipe for the Draught of Living Death, a more complicated potion then you have brewed before.I don't expect a perfect potion from anybody, but the person who does best will earn themselves this vial. You have approximately an hour left. Off you go!"

Aquila carefully read through the recipe listed in the book in front of her. Her father had often sneered at any text written by Libatious Borage and she could see why. There were directions, but they were distinctly lacking in true technique. She carefully began measuring out ingredients and adding them to her cauldron. Bluish steam filled the entire room, mixing with the other scents and vapors already present. After adding the Valerian roots she didn't bother trying to cut the sopophorus beans, everyone who had ever dealt with them knew that it was much easier to crush them with silver. She added the juice, getting it to turn the correct color and added a clockwise stir after every seven counterclockwise stirs. Bixo's principle of balance clearly stated that it was necessary to successfully combine possibly volatile ingredients successfully."

"Time's up!" Called out Slughorn, and annoyed Aquila put her stirring rod down. A few more stirs and it would be perfect.

Slughorn prowled the room, making a face at everyone's potion. Bobbin's was quite good, but Slughorn finally looked at hers. "Excellent Ms. Deadlocke. You have brewed a nearly perfect Draught of Living Death. Here is your well deserved vial of Felix Felicis. Use it well!"

The class left the dungeons, and Aquila noted the jealous looks she received.

"How did you brew the potion so well?" Astoria demanded.

"My father always used to say that Libatious Borage had rubbish instructions. I recalled some of his lectures on theories and ingredient preparation. Little things like crushing sopophorous beans with silver and adding a clockwise stir for every seven counterclockwise stirs to balance out volatiles make a rather large difference…" Aquila said enthusiastically.

"Such a pretentious little know-it-all sneered Romilda Vane. "I'm surprised they even let your house back into the school you slimy snake. You stole that vial from me and I want it back!" she half shouted, taking out her wand in the corridor.

"I didn't steal anything from you. I earned my prize" Aquila said, gripping her wand inside her robe and preparing to cast a shield charm.

Vane lifted her wand and cast a curse. Aquila ducked out of the way, the curse was not exactly a harmless spell.

"What do you think you are doing Ms. Vane?" Professor Ali asked brusquely. "That was a dark spell, not a harmless hex. Fifty points from Gryffindor, and you shall be joining in my office right now to discuss your detention."

Aquila looked at the spot on the wall where the blasting curse had struck. If it had hit her she could have been severely injured or even died. And for what? A little vial of luck.

She made her way into the Great Hall, extremely wary. Hogwarts was no longer a safe place to be a Slytherin.

After the incident with Romilda Vane, Aquila did her very best to retain her former low profile. She rarely spoke out in classes unless required, and was very careful not to be noticed as the first to complete anything. This worked for all classes except for potions, where she allowed herself to shine a little, but not as much as she could. It did not really stop Vane from being nasty to her, but after three weeks of Detention with Professor Ali she wouldn't openly curse her in the corridor. She resorted to scathing comments about Slytherins in general. Though Aquila wasn't usually bothered by what people thought of her, she fervently hoped that Vane and others- there were some especially nasty Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws as well- never found out that her Uncles were the infamous LeStrange brothers.

Between dodging other students, keeping up with coursework, and attempting to understand her monetary and legal obligations, Christmastime snuck up on Aquila. Deciding if she was going to stay at Hogwarts hinged on a meeting with her Estate Manager, which thankfully could be scheduled for the Hogsmeade weekend before break. Hogshead was a grungy pub, and Aquila discreetly cast a cleaning charm at her glass before pouring Butterbeer in it. Lincoln sipped at his firewhiskey as he laid out quite a bit of paperwork in their private parlor. The owner had the audacity to ask if they wanted a room with a bed earlier.

"As you are aware you have quite a bit of money. You legally have control over all the Deadlocke funds and investments, mostly the publishing companies, bookstores and a few Apothecaries. The LeStrange Estate is a bit more complicated. They are an old family, so I believe that in order to claim everything you have to perform some sort of blood magic at their main estate. I suggest waiting until midsummer or some other significant holiday to do so."

"So do I have control over the LeStrange family money or not?" Aquila questioned.

"The money is yours, it's the estate part that isn't quite completely claimed. Someone could take the property away if they are related closely enough to the LeStranges."

"And I care why? The estate itself is probably filled to the brim with dark artifacts."

"If they claim the estate than they get all of those Dark artifacts. Who knows what someone could do with them." explained Lincoln patiently.

Aquila sighed. "I suppose you're right. I might be able to find something about blood claiming rituals in the restricted section of the library, but if I can't I may need you to make discreet inquiries for me, preferably abroad."

"Of course. I do charge by both the hour and the difficulty of the work…"

"I will compensate you for any risks you take and protect you from the Ministry if need be, or at least I'll hire you a very good lawyer." Aquila assured him.

"Good, then let us discuss your current holdings and some possible investments you could make. WWW is in need of investors and I'm sure that they will make excellent returns..."

Christmas itself was a quiet but amusing affair. Aquila was perhaps the only one from her year that stayed, along with a few seventh year and fifth year Ravenclaws and a half dozen younger years who had nowhere else to go.

"Ms. Deadlocke," Professor Slughorn greeted her as he sat down. "I do hope that you did not take any offense to my lack of invitation to my Christmas party. You are always so quiet that you slip into the background."

"Of course I don't take offense Professor" she replied easily. "I was busy completing some last minute homework before break anyway. I am very much looking forward to my time perusing the library, I've managed to catch up on quite a bit of reading I've been meaning to get to."

"Well, if there is anything that you need in the library let me know. I'm always happy to help."

"Actually there are a few books in the restricted section that I would like to take a look at if you wouldn't mind giving me permission. I can give you a list of course, not all of them are related to potions so if you'd prefer I can always get another Professor's signature for the non-potions related books…"

Slughorn waved a dismissive hand. "If you are willing to do me a favor I would be happy to give you a blanket permission slip. There are some first and second year Slytherins who need help with their essay writing and study skills. If you would be willing to help them gain the skills they need and create a little study group I'd be happy to sign a permission form for the restricted section. I simply don't have the time to help them all."

"I would be happy to help my fellow Slytherins sir" Aquila said guardedly, surprised that Slughorn would give her a blanket permission form.

"Excellent. Now enjoy the Christmas feast…."

The start of the next term was begun with the announcement of the Malfoy's trial. Each one of the family was tried individually, and as Aquila followed in the papers, each was given their sentence. Narcissa was simply given a fine. Draco was given a much larger fine and his magic usage would be monitored for five years. He would be returning to Hogwarts for his seventh year next year. As a minor when most of his crimes were committed, he was getting off fairly lightly. Lucius Malfoy narrowly avoided prison by naming all his fellow Death Easters and assisting the Ministry in catching several. He would forever be a pariah to all society, his magic would be monitored for the next decade, and he was confined to his house for the next two years. Without Potter's testimony the other two Malfoy's sentences would have been much harsher.

Theodore Nott's trial did not make headline news. It was instead buried more towards the back of the Prophet. As he had been forced to take the mark, had committed no crimes, and had not harmed anyone in the Battle of Hogwarts, he was simply left with a steep fine, magical monitoring for two years, and the stipulation he return to Hogwarts to finish his schooling. Aquila had always liked the way that Nott had stood up to Malfoy. He had never bowed to him like many others in the house had. A thin boy, he had grown from being a stringy boy to a haunted looking but handsome man. Aquila looked forward to seeing him in her classes the following year.

"Looks like Grange testified at Theo's trial" said Daphne as she read the paper at breakfast. Daphne sometimes deigned to speak with her sisters friends since the company in her own year was distinctly lacking.

"It probably helped him." Aquila agreed.

"I hope so. Theo never wanted to be a Death Eater. It's a pity I didn't wait a year to come back. I miss his commentary on our education… and on people. He was always quite amusing." Daphne finished fondly.

"Careful Daphne. You almost sound like you have a crush." teased Astoria.

"On Theo?" she scoffed. "No, but he was a good friend. Besides, father would never allow me to marry a convicted Death Eater, willing or not."

In between homework, her access to the restricted section, and tutoring first and second years on how to properly read and write Aquila's term passed by quickly other than a particularly embarrassing incident on Valentine's Day where she made the awful mistake of going to Hogsmeade with Richard Yates. He took her to Madam Puddifoot's only to humiliate her by calling her a Death Eater whore in front of everyone after copping a feel. It was later that she found out he was Romilda Vane's cousin. It left her with a bitter taste in her mouth.

For the rest of the year she concentrated solely on academics, not even bothering to go to the Quidditch games. Only apparition lessons helped break up the monotony. She found the blood-claiming ritual in the restricted section fairly quickly but used her pass as a way to write much better Defense and Potions essays. Her Defense essays were so good that Professor Ali caught her after class one day in late may.

"Where did you get the material about the blood-boiling curse?" he asked brusquely as she sat down in his office.

"One of the books in the restricted section of the library. I think it was Blatvik's Guide to Healing Dark Curses actually."

"How did you get access to the book. I didn't give you a permission slip for the restricted section." said Professor Ali.

"Professor Slughorn gave me one over Christmas break that is good for the entire term." she replied.

"You mean to tell me that Professor Slughorn gave you a blanket permission slip to the restricted section for the whole term? Tell me he at least keeps track of what you read."

Aquila shook her head. "Why would he?" she asked. "I use it to write better essays for his class to. Besides, it's not as if I know how to cast the blood-boiling curse. I was more interested in its effects and how to heal it. I'm considering becoming a healer like my mother was."

"Your parents will be horrified when they know that you've had unrestricted access to the restricted section this term."

"That's unlikely. My parents were both Ravenclaws. And they are both dead so not much of anything bothers them these days." Aquila finished coldly.

Professor Ali did not hide his expression of pity quite quickly enough.

"If there is nothing else Professor," Aquila said as she rose from the chair, "I have a good deal of homework that I need to be completing."