Friday started out simply enough.

Pansy beat out Avalon for the showers, and of course once she was done, Millicent took it upon herself to follow suit and innocent Tracey just so happened to not see Daphne and Avalon waiting outside the door. By the time the two girls showered, the water was cold and both Blaise and Theo had left for breakfast.

"Pansy is lucky I'm too cold right now to be vengeful."

"Double potions with the Gryffindors, first thing in the morning," said Avalon, ignoring Daphne's statement. She pulled her slightly damp hair up into a ponytail and searched for her textbooks. There was some parchment and a few quills under the duvet on her bed, as Avalon had spent the last few nights doing her homework wrapped in the covers, occasionally falling asleep while writing Binns's History of Magic paper.

"That sounds wonderful," Daphne reached under her own bed and pulled out Avalon's copy of Magical Drafts and Potions. "Looking for something?"

"Thanks."

They left their dormitory and went down to breakfast. Over the past three days, they had become familiar with the castle—as familiar as you could be with a place where everything from the stairs to the decorations was constantly changing.

Navigating to the dungeons gave the girls (and Blaise and Theo, who had met up with them at breakfast) a familiar feeling of coldness, as their common room was in a dungeon as well. The Potions dungeon, however, was decorated with pickled animals floating in glass jars on the walls, rather than green furniture and portraits of famous Slytherin witches and wizards like Merlin. The first years stood shivering in the doorway for a moment, as if afraid to go into the dungeons.

"Well? Don't just stand there."

They surged forward, into the room.

Avalon stared at Professor Snape, his sallow skin and hook-shaped nose. She had always thought him to be a terrifying man, and this time was no different.

He began the class by taking roll, and then he had them take their seats so he could speak to them.

"Ah. Harry Potter. Our new… celebrity."

Avalon snorted. Instantly, Snape whirled around and his eyes flashed in her direction. "I'm sorry, Ms. Steele. Is there something funny? Would you care to share it with the class?"

"No, Professor." Her head hung in shame.

Snape went back to calling the roll. By the time he reached "Zabini, Blaise," (Blaise had been complaining the day before that he was always the last one to be called for anything) the class was intrigued but still frightened by their first potions lesson so far. No one dared breathe too loudly for fear of getting called on in class.

Avalon was only partially listening to Snape's speech. She tuned in as he finished: "I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even stopper death— if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

The students seemed unsure if this was a joke or not, but no one wanted to be the one to laugh so they remained silent.

"Potter!" Snape said. "What would I get if I added powdered asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry Potter looked surprised that he was being called out again, and so quickly in the lesson. He also looked surprised because he had probably never heard of either of those ingredients before. He told Snape he didn't know, while the muggleborn Hermione Granger flapped her hand around in the air as if it caused her a great deal of pain not to be called on and prove she was not a dunderhead. Snape continued to ask Potter questions he consistently didn't know the answer to, and blatantly ignore the muggleborn girl's raised hand.

Finally, Potter decided he'd had enough. "I don't know. I think Hermione does, though, why don't you ask her?"

Although it was a fair point, Snape glowered in Potter direction. "For your information, Potter," he spat, "Asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down? And that'll be a point from Gryffindor for your cheek," he said.

There was a scrambling as students hurriedly pulled out quills and parchment and began scribbling notes on what Snape was saying.

As the lesson continued, Snape put the students into pairs and instructing them to fix a potion to cure boils.

Avalon was partnered with Neville Longbottom, the boy who she had met on the boat ride to Hogwarts earlier that week. She quickly found out that Neville was awful at Potions, and that she had to pretty much walk him through every step.

"Can you crush these snake fangs with the mortar and pestle?"

Neville nodded quickly, and took the tools and the fangs from her, beginning to crush them. They made small talk as they worked on the potion, and Avalon showed Neville how to carefully add four measures of crushed snake fang powder to the cauldron, and how to heat it carefully.

Everything seemed to be going well, until Avalon asked Neville to add the porcupine quills to the potion while she fetched four horned slugs. While she was in the storeroom, she heard a series of shrieks from the classroom.

When she emerged, a horrific sight greeted her. Neville had miraculously melted Avalon's cauldron into a silver blob. Unfinished potion seeped across the floor, burning holes in shoes and destroying parchment. Neville was in the worst condition, however. The potion had splashed him during the explosion, causing angry red boils to sprout across his skin. He moaned in pain and clutched his arms. Pansy didn't even bother to try and hide her laughter, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle joining in.

Avalon found herself rolling her eyes inwardly. Oh, Neville, she thought.

Snape, with his scowl perfectly in place, used his wand to clean up the spilled potion. Then he rounded on the blubbering boy. "Idiot boy! I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Neville continued to cry and whimper.

"Finnigan!" snapped their professor to the boy working to Neville's left. "Take Longbottom to the hospital wing."

On Neville and Avalon's other side, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley had been hard at work. Snape glared at them as well. "You, Potter, why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."

Avalon returned to her desk, dish of horned slugs forgotten in her hand.

"But professor, it's hardly Potter's fault. How could he be expected to monitor his own potion and keep an eye on what Neville and I were doing? If anyone is to blame, it would be me. I was his partner," said Avalon. Potter seemed surprised that she was sticking up for him, but he remained silent and didn't voice his shock.

Snape paused—not hesitantly, but deliberately—before speaking. "Very well. Ms. Steele, please tell Longbottom that the two of you will have detention with me every night next week for your carelessness. That should teach you to mind what you're doing in my class."

The benefit of Neville collapsing her cauldron was that Avalon could work with Daphne for the rest of the class, since Daphne's partner Seamus Finnigan had taken Neville to the hospital wing.

As they left the dungeon, Avalon bumped into Potter and Weasley.

"Thanks for what you said back in the dungeons," Potter said, as if he couldn't believe his words.

"Don't flatter yourself," Avalon responded. "I hate unfairness. I would have done it for anyone."

Weasley grabbed Potter's arm. "Whatever Harry. There's no use thanking a Slytherin, they don't have emotions anyway."

"Wow, you're so clever!"

But at this point, Weasley and Potter had already vanished around the corner and Avalon's friends had left her as well. They only had Charms with the Hufflepuffs before lunch, and she would make a stop by the Hospital Wing on her way to the Great Hall before then.

Charms was taught by a little man named Professor Flitwick. On Tuesday, they had started learning Alohomora, which was an unlocking charm. The professor had asked Susan Bones, whom Avalon knew to be the niece of Amelia Bones, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, to pass out locks to the students. After showing them the charm the way it was meant to be performed, Flitwick gave the first years a chance to practice performing it. The previous class, the only person who had been able to make any progress with the spell was a Hufflepuff boy named Ernie MacMillan, who seemed just as surprised as the rest of the class.

By the end of their second class, however, the only ones who hadn't successfully unlocked their locks were Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, and two Hufflepuffs named Justin Finch-Fletchley and Megan Jones. Flitwick released them from class with a two-foot parchment assignment on the locking charm, which they were to start working on the following week.

"It's finally lunchtime," Theo said, grinning as he and his friends left the Charms classroom. They began to climb the stairs.

"I'll meet you guys there," Avalon answered.

Blaise shrugged in her direction as she parted ways from the other three. "Don't get lost. We won't give up our lunchtime to come find you."

As soon as her friends were out of sight, Avalon began to navigate towards the Hospital Wing. Fortunately, Lucy had showed her and Daphne where it was located earlier in the week and she only had a few problems remembering the way. When Avalon entered, Madame Pomfrey, an aging witch with grey hair neatly scraped under a white matron's hat, exited the office adjacent to the Hospital Wing.

"Yes, what seems to be the problem?"

"I'm perfectly healthy," said Avalon. "I'm here to see Neville Longbottom."

Madame Pomfrey led Avalon further into the Hospital Wing. "Ah, Neville Longbottom, the boy with the boils."

"That's the one."

Neville was lying in a bed with the covers pulled up to his chin. He wasn't crying anymore, although this might have had something to do with the fact that he was sound asleep. "He should be waking up soon if you just want to wait," said Madame Pomfrey. Avalon thanked her and sat down in a chair next to Neville's bed.

His boils were beginning to go down, but he still looked like the kind of person people would avoid thinking he had a contagious disease.

It wasn't long before he began to stir. He opened his eyes groggily. His mouth opened and he croaked something.

"What?"

"I said, 'water,'" Neville repeated, a little bit louder this time.

Avalon looked around, and noticed a tall glass of water on Neville's bedside table. She helped him sit up enough to drink about half of it until he started coughing and cleared his throat. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just checking on you," Avalon said, which was true. "Also, Snape wanted me to tell you that we both have detention with him every night next week."

"I can't catch a break." Neville's voice was muffled, as he had picked up one of his pillows and placed it over his head.

There was a bit of silence as Avalon wasn't sure of what to say. "So, you're not the best at Potions. It was only the first lesson. And besides, we all have subjects we're awful in."

"What's your worst subject?"

"I'm rubbish at Herbology. I don't know what it is about it, I'm horrible at the practical and the theoretical sides," Avalon answered.

Neville seemed to be thinking for a moment. "I've always really liked Herbology. I'm fairly good at it."

"Okay, well, what if I helped you in Potions and you helped me with Herbology?"

"Do you really think that would work?" Neville asked. "You were helping me in Potions class today and look at what happened!" He gestured to his boil covered body, then groaned as he moved into an uncomfortable position.

Avalon shrugged. "What do you have to lose?"

So, Neville agreed, and they decided they would occasionally meet in the library to go over their homework in their respective problem subjects. Avalon had also brought him the Potions homework that Snape had assigned, and offered (albeit, a bit reluctantly) to get his third period assignment from one of his Gryffindor friends. Then she stayed in the hospital wing for a little bit longer before departing for lunch.

By the time she reached the Great Hall, many the first years had already departed back to their Common Rooms to relax, as they had the afternoon off. Thus, her choices of Gryffindors to ask for Neville's missing work were extremely limited. The only familiar face she saw was Seamus Finnigan, the boy who had taken him to the hospital wing. He was talking to a tall black boy and one of the Weasley twins. Fred? Or was it George? Avalon had met them only a handful of times, and hadn't mastered the art of telling them apart.

"Seamus," Avalon called, making her way to the Gryffindor table.

The boy turned around. "You're the Slytherin girl in my Potions class. The one who was working with Neville, right?"

She nodded. "Avalon."

"Right." Seamus went back to his sandwich, making it perfectly clear that he didn't care about her name in the slightest.

"Anyway, I told Neville I would get the homework assignments he missed from one of his housemates while he was in the Hospital Wing."

"I'll stop by myself."

Avalon felt the beginnings of a scowl and did her best to hold it in, no easy feat. "I mean; you don't need to do that. I already told Neville I would do it. You don't have to make a special trip or anything." Remain calm. Don't be rash.

With a sigh, Seamus gathered his books and stood up. "It's nothing personal, Avalon. Except it is. I don't trust you."

"What are you talking about?"

"I think that, for some reason, you made the cauldron melt and the potion explode on purpose. I don't know you well enough to know why you would want to do that to a good bloke like Neville, but I know better than to let my guard down around Slytherins." To emphasize his point, Seamus began to walk out of the Great Hall backwards.

A snappy retort died on Avalon's tongue as Seamus left.

Who does that awful Finnigan think he is? she thought. She turned in the direction of the Slytherin table and went to eat lunch with Tracey Davis, as Theo, Blaise, and Daphne had already finished their meal and were probably long gone. This is not over.

A/N: So in this chapter, there are a few parts that are borrowed from The Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone, which is simply because there are some occasions where Avalon is experiencing the same things that Harry did, but obviously from a different point of view. I definitely try to keep it to a minimum, but I know there is one other chapter coming soon that has canonical bits. So yeah. Also, please leave a review maybe? Even if it's just flame, it would be much appreciated. Honestly, I'm a fan of flame reviews because it shows me what I should work on. Thanks for reading! (Also, I don't own Harry Potter, although that's probably not necessary to tell you. I'm sure you figured it out already).