3
"How quickly can you make a poison?" Harry grumbled the next morning.
"Probably a day, why?" Asteria asked as she drank her breakfast tea with a couple scones.
"Malfoy is a giant prat," Harry huffed, plopping down next to her.
Their head of house, Severus Snape, briskly walked around the table. He was handing out their class schedules. Asteria noted that they had majority of classes with Ravenclaw, with potions being with Gryffindor. She bit into her scone and chewed on it in thought. Hermione seemed overly excited for their classes and her leg began to bounce. A hand reached forward and gently stilled her movements. She wasn't sure which of her friends it was.
"Transfiguration seems incredibly interesting," Hermione stated.
"I think Papa was good at transfiguration, if you ever have any questions, you can always ask him," Asteria gently told her before looking at the girl that gracefully sat down before them.
The blonde girl didn't say anything and Asteria decided to allow her there. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and thought about their day. They had a free period in the afternoon two hours after lunch and three before dinner. They'd get their morning work done first. The library would become their haunt, and no one would dare bother them. She brought out her fan as she finished her food and began to fan herself as Apopis flicked her tongue out.
"Go hunt my darling," she quietly hissed and Apopis nodded before slithering into her robes and exiting down her leg.
The snake knew how to blend in and keep out of sight, having done so to hunt correctly. The trio got up and started to head to their transfiguration class. Harry ignored the muttering surrounding him, several "dark lord in the making" went through the crowds and he rolled his eyes. Sure, he could do horrible things, but they were always in retaliation for what people did to him. He didn't go out of his way to harm people. No, that was Asteria. Her malicious streak sometimes scared him. Yet, he also reveled in it. They walked into Transfiguration and noted the cat sitting on the desk. The two turned towards the resident snake owner.
"Apopis knows better than to hunt a cat," she stated. "Too many questions if one goes missing:"
"Right," Hermione muttered.
They took a seat towards the front of the class and took out their materials and waited for the rest of their peers to arrive. The cat scrutinized them. It seemed to notice their mundane objects, the ball point pens and composite notebooks. It didn't say anywhere in the rules that they couldn't use any modern inventions to take their notes, only their assignments. The cat took one leap from the desk once everyone was there, and their professor appeared. There was applause at her transformation, and she stood up straight once it ended. She was one of their best teachers.
Hermione was elated at the amount of theory they learned and Asteria was thankful that they'd understand what they were doing. Harry didn't mind taking notes and found it interesting. It was the practical work that they all equally enjoyed. The buttons in front of them were nonliving and would be easiest to change into something else. Harry's holly wand gently jabbed forward, and the button became longer, slowly growing a sharp tip. Hermione jabbed it forward with confidence and the button quickly changed into a shiny needle. Asteria gave her's a jab and it transformed into a black needle. She wanted to keep the original colour of the button.
"Five points to Slytherin for the quick Mary of the transfiguration," McGonagall said, coming across their table and noting the difference between their needles. "Your needle needs to be a bit sharper, Mr. Potter."
"Thank you, Professor," Harry said, jabbing his wand forward and slowly changing the tip to be a bit sharper.
"Five points to Slytherin once again for taking constructive criticism," McGonagall gave the closest thing she could to a smile before walking off to help another table.
"Ten points up in one single class," Asteria commented. "Let's see just how many we can get."
Hermione set the bar low at twenty. Harry too high at one hundred. Asteria gave a simple number of thirty. They entered History of Magic and Harry watched as Asteria put in ear plugs before grabbing her history book and opening it up. She began to take notes and he slowly joined her, noting that the ghostly teacher had the tendency to drone on and on. Hermione was the only one able to remain awake and listen to the teacher, something that brought the attention of one Draco Malfoy. The blonde boy seemed to think that he was able to run Slytherin with ease, and the threat of his father. Asteria knew better than that, she was going to make him fear her before the end of the semester. She didn't do well with fools, and he was a large one.
"Of course, the mudblood is able to stay awake during Binns lecture," Malfoy started, and Hermione bristled. "She's too dim to understand what he's saying. The little magic stealer."
"I can't believe the heir to the house of Malfoy believes that his little amount of magic can compare to a newblood like Hermione's," Asteria commented to Harry, and he blanched at her words. "Then again, inbreeding does have the unfortunate side-effect of low intelligence."
"You little-" Malfoy cut himself off the moment her cold silver eyes landed on him.
Harry noted the crowd that was gathering and saw a few of the older students stopping to look at them. Fred and George came to a stop and watched as she slowly walked forward, her cold expression not leaving her face as she leaned towards her cousin. She was going to surprise him; she was eldest and the heiress to the Black family. He needed to be taught a lesson, and she would gladly do so.
"You dare to talk down to someone from a much older house?" She softly asked, the soft tone betraying nothing. "I don't care what your father has informed you, you are nothing more than a Malfoy and will never see the seat for the Black family. Know where you stand."
She stood back and made her way back to her friends, to her family. Malfoy reached for his wand before gagging on something. Asteria gained a serpentine smirk and pocketed her poison. She always was one for a good distraction. That poison would be out of his system by the time he got to the hospital wing. Hermione held a handout, and she gave the other girl a high-five. Her friends knew what went on in her mind, and it should've terrified other people. The twins caught up with them on their way to lunch.
"Marry us," Fred dramatically said.
"We've never seen someone take down a Malfoy with their own games," George added.
"Ask me later," Asteria hummed as the doors to the great hall opened. "I might have an answer."
"Oh, don't tease them too much," Hermione warned and Asteria gave a slight nod of understanding before stage winking at the two boys.
"I was joking, but I think she'd give us a run for our pranks," Fred informed George as they left the first years and sat at the Gryffindor table.
"Scary brilliant that one," George agreed. "She knew exactly what she was doing to Malfoy, each step was calculated."
"What happened to Malfoy?" their brother Ron asked, his mouthful of food much to the chagrin of all his brothers.
"Asteria poisoned him while putting him in his place," Fred answered.
"I've heard that she uses muggle materials," their older brother Percy said. "I've been meaning to ask how she smuggled them in."
The muggle materials seemed incredibly popular to the rest of the student body. A few of the muggleborns were looking towards the Slytherin table, wanting to approach and ask for a ballpoint pen to take notes with instead of the incredibly outdated quills. A Hufflepuff, one with dark brown hair and silver eyes of his own, stood up from the table and confidently marched up to the first year. His mum used mundane objects, and he had gotten used to using them at home. He missed pens.
"Excuse me," he said, causing Asteria to pause in the action of drinking some water. "May I borrow a pen?"
"Does no one else think to bring pens in?" Hermione asked as Asteria handed one over. "We just put them in our school bags and got on the train."
"Diagon Alley doesn't sell them, so most magical families are unable to get them," the blonde girl from earlier informed them as she sat across from them.
"Pity, it'd be so easy to have them mailed to the nearest post office," Asteria commented, turning back to her tea. "What is it that you want, Greengrass?"
"I wish to join your study group," the girl stated.
"It'll be a group decision," Asteria warned her before turning to her friends.
They huddled. The boy was so bemused by the sight that he stood there as they talked in hushed tones. He could've sworn he heard hissing mixed in and an exasperated Hermione smacking one of them on the shoulder for saying something. They nodded in unison and sat up straight, acting as though they hadn't just huddled in the middle of the great hall.
"We don't mind," Hermione said. "But please know that it's a collection of information, not a way to cheat off one another. We don't mind sharing our knowledge or finding more, but we don't care for people who use us."
"Which we know is ironic for a modern day Slytherin," Asteria added.
"We also allow him to be an honorary member and the Weasley twins as well," Harry said.
The professors up at the head table watched the strange decree as the redhaired twins let out a laugh. Cedric Diggory, the boy that had wanted a single pen, nodded his thanks, and headed back to the Hufflepuff table an amused smile on his face. Years of being around his Slytherin mother had prepared him for the students of that house. They were messing with everyone, excluding the poison's that he heard rumours of. The twins knew that they were slightly serious about that.
"Mixing with the peasants, Greengrass?" a girl with dark hair sneered at the blonde.
"No, mixing with other intelligent people," Greengrass coolly responded.
They went back to their classes and soon fell into a routine. Greengrass slowly became a fixture in their trio and started to relax around them. Harry wasn't a future dark lord, no the boy was a bit too kind to go that far, but Asteria would if she was pushed too far. Daphne Greengrass saw people being poisoned and hexed on a day-to-day basis as she became closer to the group. She watched as Hermione gave a fond sigh towards the dark-haired witch as she talked to one of the Weasley twins, making the slightly older boy laugh at something she said. That was how they got dungbombs to mess with the other occupants of Slytherin. Malfoy was one of the main targets, him not really knowing when to hold his tongue.
"Flitwick is rather charming," Asteria said with a kind smile after they came out of charms.
"He's better than Quirell," Harry agreed.
"Anyone is better than Quirell," Hermione pointed out.
"I don't know how that man became qualified to teach defense against the dark arts," Daphne stated, pushing her long hair behind her shoulder in annoyance. "That garlic smell is horrendous."
"I have a scent potion if you need it," Asteria offered. "I use it to get rid of the headaches that harsh smells give me."
Apopis gave a hiss of agreement and curled up around her owner's neck. Daphne got used to the venomous snake relatively quickly for a pureblood. Granted, Apopis didn't go after students and seemed relatively well behaved. They headed to the great hall just as lunch began. It was mail time as well, the first few days had been barren of mail, letters and care packages would be coming in as the week progressed. The four sat down at the Slytherin table, a few of the older students giving them polite nods. A large snowy owl, with a large package, landed before them and held its leg out for Asteria to take it. As her nimble hands worked at the twine attaching the package to the owl, Harry fed it a piece of bacon. It was his owl, Hedwig. A beautiful gift from Hagrid that he had asked to keep with the Tonks until they sent their first letter. Said letter being grabbed by Hermione.
"She wants to know our houses," Hermione informed them and Asteria smiled. "She says not to bother for Asteria seeing as she already knows she's in Slytherin."
"I'd be insulted if it wasn't a compliment," Asteria shrugged.
Their care package had sweets and more mundane equipment for them to use. Daphne was given one of the notebooks and a few pens and gave a thankful smile. She placed them in her bag and watched as the mint teeth were placed in the two pockets of the ones that were going to eat it. Harry shared his chocolate frogs with her. He really was a sweet boy.
"Potions is today, right?" Hermione asked as she tucked the letter away in her robe.
"Yes, with Professor Snape," Asteria confirmed. "Hopefully, it goes well."
"I've heard a few rumours that don't shed a good light on him," Daphne admitted. "He should leave us be since he's our head of house."
"He could favour us, but at the same time teaching somewhat equally," Harry commented with a frown.
Things like that annoyed him greatly. His frown was still apparent as they headed down to the dungeons with the Gryffindor first years. Ron Weasley sneered at them and faltered under Hermione's glare. Asteria hid her smile behind a fan and noted that the two boys flanking him seemed amused by his sudden fear. They didn't know that he'd been physically moved by the slightly taller brunette. She had ample blackmail if he continued to be rude to them. The door dramatically swung open, and they took their places at different cauldrons. Harry and Asteria paired up together as Daphne and Hermione grabbed a cauldron.
"Robes off," Asteria hissed to Harry. "Less sleeves to cause accidents."
"Right, lab safety," Harry hissed back.
The trio took off their outer robes, startling several of their fellow students. The robes were folded and placed in their school bags. Daphne joined, gathering they did it for a reason and waited for their head of house to swoop in. How he got his robes to billow like they did, she would like to know. It was theatric, and overly dramatic. She could possibly figure it out, when she was a bit older. Snape looked over the roll and only paused twice. Once on Asteria's, giving her a suspicious glance, and another on Harry's.
"Ah, Mister Potter, our newest celebrity," he commented and Asteria narrowed her eyes dangerously. "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making. As there is little foolish wand waving here many of you may believe that this has nothing to do with magic. I don't expect most of you to appreciate the beauty of the potion making process. I can show you to brew glory, bottle fame, and even put a stop to death."
Harry took notes of his speech and Asteria watched the teacher like a hawk. His hooked nose was a strong feature, and his overly greasy hair was as well. It had to be because of constant exposure to steam. She tapped her hands against her thigh, quietly trying to get Harry's attention as Snape zeroed in on what he perceived as an inattentive student. He stepped up to their station and Asteria elbowed her friend.
"Potter!" Snape startled Harry more than the elbow. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
"The draught of living death," Harry answered, remembering the different poisons that Asteria liked to gush about.
"Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" Snape pressed, he was looking at Harry as though he was trying to find something, anything.
"The stomach of a goat, but it can be found in the stomach of every living thing," Harry stated. "Even humans, as horrible as that is."
"What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Snape did one last question.
"They're the same plant," Harry said, his disbelief palpable in his tone. "It also goes by the name Aconite."
It was silent once again, and Daphne mused that it happened a lot around the three. She slowly wrote down the information and waited for their lesson to begin, their true lesson. Not whatever just happened. She would be informing her father of their professor's behavior, and she could tell that Asteria would as well. If looks could kill then their head of house would be ten feet under, if not more. Snap sat back and peered at the room, only seeing one of his students writing down the, sadly, correct information.
"Why aren't all of you writing that down?" He snapped at them.
He whipped his wand out and flicked it towards the chalk board. Instructions and ingredients appeared on it. Harry nodded to Asteria as she began to write down the ingredients and instructions. She lit the fire under the cauldron, the cure for boils requiring an already warm cauldron to start with. Harry placed down their ingredients and stared to cut and grate what they needed to. Asteria helped by grinding down a few maggots. It was a good thing that this potion was mostly used on the skin than it was ingested. She knew that she'd have to drink something horrid one day, but she wasn't looking forward to it.
An explosion caused the Slytherin side of the room to stop. The Gryffindors were up on their chairs, avoiding a putrid green liquid as it slowly moved across the floor. Ah, so someone had added porcupine quills before removing it from the heat, poor kid. He was a bit of a round boy, tears going down his face as he broke out in painful boils. Snape moved quickly, vanishing the dangerous potion.
"You idiot boy," he snarled. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire? You, take him to the hospital wing!"
A lanky boy gave a quick jerky nod before gently helping the crying boy to his feet and taking him to the hospital wing. Asteria noted that it was a kind gesture to barely touch his red and boiled ridden skin. She supposed that Gryffindor wasn't completely filled with horrid prats. Even the twins had their moments where a lack of empathy showed. It had to be a boy thing, it just had to be. She sighed as their potion came to the correct shade of green. They bottled it up, and put a stopper in it. Snape glared at each student as they turned in their potions, he gave them the assignment to write down the effects of the potion and of each ingredient and why they reacted the way they did.
"He's horrible," Daphne stated, a deep frown on her face.
"I can't believe he snapped at him like that!" Hermione exclaimed as soon as she was sure they were far enough away from the man in question.
"I can understand that potion making can turn dangerous fairly quickly," Asteria admitted. "But scaring someone like that isn't the way to go. A lesson on safety would be best."
"It's no wonder that Ted was complaining about a lack of healers," Harry commented in a thoughtful tone.
"An A or O newt is required to become one," Daphne agreed. "I'll write to my father to look into this a bit further."
"He's a lawyer, right?" Asteria asked. "He could talk to Papa; I think they'd get along quite well."
Daphne agreed to it. If a Ted Tonks came home wearing a large grin from a meeting with the father of one of Asteria's friends, then Asteria was none the wiser. Ted found an in, and William Greengrass chuckled to himself. Ted Tonks was amusing, and he couldn't figure out how Daphne's new friend came from that man at all. That child poisoned people in a way that couldn't be traced back to her. Oh, he was inviting the Tonks family over for summer, and that included a young witch and Harry Potter. Daphne was finding strange connections, and he couldn't be prouder.
"Looks like Gringotts was broken into," Daphne stated in an offhanded manner, putting her newspaper down.
"The same day that we were at Diagon Alley," Harry commented, noting the date. "It probably happened after we left."
"I wonder what would be so important for someone to steal it, I wouldn't dare cross a goblin unless I absolutely had to." Asteria admitted.
"That's a first for you," Hermione pointed out.
"I like my head attached to my neck," she shrugged.
All heads turned to look at the Gryffindor Nearly Headless Nick, and hands moved towards their neck in unison. Yeah, they could agree with that. They could agree with that with ease. Daphne sighed quietly, well, she signed up for her life to be somewhat unhinged the second she joined their study group. Weasley's, a Diggory, a Potter, the hidden Black Heiress, and an incredibly brilliant newblood witch. Oh, her life would never be quiet again.