A/N Hi sorry I did not update yesterday it has taken me a very long time to write this chapter but I did enjoy writing it very much. This is the longest chapter I have ever written because I really wanted to fit lots into it. I hope you enjoy!

"Bella!" there was a face above Bella's head as she slowly opened her eyes and adjusted to the light. She had been reading a book on transfiguration she had found by her bed when she woke up early but had fallen back to sleep very quickly. Bella recognised Amaria standing over her fully dressed in her robes, her orange hair brushed neatly into a long braid down the back of her head, "Quick! We are going to be late for breakfast if you are not out of this room in the next five minutes and we are supposed to be meeting the head of Slytherin - Professor Slughorn immediately after we eat."

"What?" Bella remarked, "I didn't know about that!"

"Well neither did I until Lythia and Lisen told me this morning... and everybody has already left! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"

"Okay! Okay I'll be done in five," so Bella quickly threw her robes on, dragged a comb through her hair and tied it into two bunches at the sides of her head. Because she was in such a rush to get ready, Bella did not at first realise that her robes were on backwards and had to rush away to change them when Amaria pointed it out to her but when she returned and put on her new shoes, the two girls were finally ready to rush down to breakfast.

As they entered through the grand doors of the great hall Bella caught sight of Isabella waving at her from the Gryffindor table. Bella raised her arm to wave back at her friend but Amaria immediately stopped her, "Ugh!" she remarked, "What does that filthy mudblood think she is waving at you - Bellatrix from the famous house of Black," she pulled Bella to a seat at the Slytherin table, "Honestly, mudbloods-"

"Why are you calling her a mudblood," Bella asked, "You see she's not bad... she's my friend who I met on the-"

"Hush," Amaria put a finger to Bella's lips, "All mudbloods are evil and not truly proper wizards and should not be able to attend Hogwarts or any other magical wizarding school,"

"Who told you that?" Bella asked and glanced over to Isabella whose classmates seemed to be telling her something about Slytherins as they kept looking towards their table,

"Oh everyone knows it, well anybody pure of blood knows it," she tucked in to her plate of bacon, sausages, tomatoes and eggs whilst Bella nibbled a piece of toast with butter. Confused about magical and non-magical folk and their relationship with each other,

"But-" she began

"No Bella, no more questions. If you are really my friend you will not question our hatred as Slytherins to mudbloods."

"Were any mudbloods ever in Slytherin?" Bella asked,

"No, not that I've heard of. Although there are halfbloods who have been in this house and even though I hate to admit it, there were some great Slytherins who were halfblooded,"

"Who?"

"There's no time now, we have to get to the common room to meet Professor Slughorn in two minutes," they quickly got up from the table and ran along the corridors to the Slytherin common room,

"Um... Emerald Sphinx," Bella uttered nervously to the picture and to her amazement it opened so that the two girls could rush through and take their seats with the others. Once they found somewhere to sit, they waited excitedly for the professor to arrive, Amaria was busy talking to Lythia and Lisen so Bella turned to speak to a quiet girl with mousy coloured hair,

"Hi, what's your name?" she asked and the girl looked away shyly,

"I'm Cindy," she replied, "I..I am not supposed to b..be in Slytherin," she said almost in a whisper and began to sob quietly,

"Well why could you possibly think that? Slytherin is fantastic! Being in Slytherin means you are clever, ambitious, you are resourceful and you should be happy here! There is no better house you could possibly be in and you should be proud of it,"

"But my parents-"

"Don't worry about your parents, I never did, and they will love you whatever happens,"

"Okay, how shall I tell them?"

"Tomorrow, write them a letter and I assure you they will be happy for you,"

"Thanks," she stopped crying, "um.."

"Bellatrix. Black,"

"Thank you Bellatrix. I feel alot better now," Bella smiled as Amaria tapped her on the shoulder,

"What are you doing talking to the weird girl who cries all of the time - I mean seriously who cries all night?"

"She is not weird, she is just- well never mind now here comes Slughorn," Slughorn appeared through the door and made his way to the front of the audience. He was a plump man with little hair and was wearing a waist coat that barley fitted him. He was also very short for a man of whatever age he was as his head only just towered the grand fireplace,

"Welcome new students of Slytherin house. I have summoned you under special circumstances to meet me personally before I take the role as your head of house and potions master. I would just like to formally welcome you to Slytherin house where if you make the right choices, you will thrive into a wonderful young with our wizard. Now, go off to your lessons so you are not late for um... Now what is it? Oh yes, transfiguration class with professor McGonagall - a wonderful subject in my opinion," he stood staring for a moment, "Oh off you go children you can leave! My office is two doors behind the common room so feel free to pay me a visit whenever you can!" he chuckled and went off to greet the new prefects separately,

"Some Slytherin," Amaria smirked,

"Well my dear if you do not believe the myth that all Slytherins are evil you will find that we can actually be very nice people,"

Amaria turned round in horror to see that the professor had heard her comment, "I am sorry sir I... I really promise that I did not mean it,"

"Of course, but mind, this house should only feature students with open minds,"

"Yes professor,"

They quickly ran out of the classroom and Bella burst out laughing at Amaria,

"Come on Bella it's not funny I just expected a bit more of an impressive wizard to be our head of house,"

"I'm sure he is a great wizard anyway but now all we have to think about is finding the Transfiguration classroom, get out your timetable so we can find out the classroom it is in," Amaria opened her timetable and looked at the magical directions to find the classroom,

"Okay so we go this way then left along the far corridor and it is the second door on the right,"

"No!" remarked Bella snatching the directions off Amaria and looking at them herself, "We go right, then left down the narrow corridor and it is the fourth door on the left,"

"Don't be stupid Bell-"

"Well lets see who is right,"

"Fine then," Bella handed back Amaria's timetable and opened her own to set off to find the classrom. She turned right, then left down the narrow corridor and to the fourth door on the left where she had arrived just in time to sit down at her seat next to Cindy and watch Professor McGonagall enter the classroom.

"Welcome students to your first class at Hogwarts. My name is Professor McGonagall and I shall be your transfiguration teacher," she went towards the desk at the front of the classroom and picked up a sheet of paper and a quill, "Now I shall check if everyone is here... Cindra Alora?"

"Yes," squeaked Cindy,

"Bellatrix Black?"

"Yes," replied Bella,

"Lysen Boggithal?" she kept on saying names but Amaria had still not found the classroom, "Isabella ...?"

"Yes,"

"Rita ..?"

"Amaria?"

Silence...

"Is Amaria here? No? Has anybody seen Amaria,

"I think she got lost professor," Bella said,

"Okay then let's move on, Tara?"

"Wait!" Maria charged into the room looking flustered, "I'm so sorry Professor Bellatirx told me to go the wrong way because she wanted me to be late for class and then I ran into somebody who told me I was going the wrong way entirely and-"

"It is okay you are here now but please try to be on time for class. Bellatrix, did you tell Amaria to go the wrong way,"

"She did," Amaria nodded,

"I did not you are a liar!" Bella cried out, "You told me you were going that way and I said it was the wrong way but you went anyway! I never made you go that way!"

"Okay girls please calm down or I am going to have to speak to you after class,"

"You are a liar Bellatrix Black and you always will be,"

"I am not a liar, you are!" Bella pointed her wand at Amaria and shouted one of the incantations she had found in her book this morning. Orange and purple sparks flew out of her wand towards Amaria and in a flush of smoke an orange cat was there in Amaria's place,

"Bellatrix Black! I have never had an incident in all my six years at Hogwarts," she waved her wand and transformed Amaria back into her normal form. She looked angry, "You two girls go straight to Professor Slughorn's office. Now!" they ran out of the room towards where Slughorn had told them his office was. They did not talk for a while but finally Bella couldn't help herself,

"Why did you lie about me?" she asked,

"Why did I lie about you? You are a Black - one of the greatest wizarding families ever probably the greatest, so of course you are going to be great at magic it is undoubtable that teachers will prefer you to me,"

"Just because of my family you don't have to hate me,"

"I do not hate you Bella, I just want to be the best and with you here that is not possible,"

"So you are going to try to get me on the bad side of every teacher?"

"Yes, and I have already made McGonagall think you are a crazy maniac so next up is Sluhorn, which should be easy"

"You will even make the headmaster hate me?"

"Yes Bella, even Dumbledore himself will detest you,"

"You wouldn't,"

"I'm a Slytherin Bella, the good type," Bella was silent and tried to contain her anger for she already knew that she would be in heaps of trouble for turning another student into a cat. Would Slughorn write to her parents about it? She did not want the first thing her parents hear about her in years to be bad. But there was nothing she could do. Bella knocked on the door of Slughorn's office,

"Enter!" he cried happily, and they did.

A/N Thank you for reading I decided to leave it just before they go and talk to Slughorn because I don't want this chapter to be any longer than it already it! Please review as I got no reviews for my last chapter and would really appreciate it if you take the time to tell me what you think of my story,

Rueflower7 xx