The first lesson on Wednesday for Natalie and her friends was potions and Nat was terribly excited for this class because it was her favourite subject after DADA which they had yesterday. Prof. Watson was an okay teacher but she thought Remus would do a fantastic job if it was him. Sadly that wasn't the case, but she did enjoy the class and aced it with no issue. They had DADA, Potions and Transfiguration with the Gryffindor's and Charms and HoM with Ravenclaw's and finally Herbology and astronomy with Hufflepuffs. So now they were on their way to the dungeons for their first potions class.

Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the register. When he reached Catherine's name he looked at them his eyes searching for the brunette and his eyes looked different for moment and then continued with the attendance. He paused at Nat's name as well and looked at her, for a second she saw a look of ... was it guilt?... on his face and then his eyes became cold again. Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class.
'You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making,' Snape began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word – like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. 'As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses ... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.'
Nat felt scared for a few moments wondering if she could do this because she really wanted to ace this class. "Weasley!" Snape thundered at the twins who were laughing amongst themselves. They looked up shocked for a seconds and then Nat saw the glint of mischief in their eyes again.
"You ! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood? let's see if you are as smart as your brothers.' Snape said asking Fred the question.
''I don't know sir." He said.
"Let's try again. Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" Snape asked him again
''I don't know sir." He said.
" Pity, clearly your other half doesn't know either. Looks like the brains in your skipped you both! Five points from Gryffindor for laughing in class" Snape told them.
Nat felt her blood boil. No one makes fun of the twins or the rest of the Weasley's and soon she found herself on her feet and angrily said her green eyes cold with anger "Clearly you must have misunderstood that this is only their first class and I am sure not many people knows the answers to the questions you asked. Maybe you should pick on someone your age and not your students!"
The class gasped at her comment, everyone was staring at her and then at Prof. Snape wondering what his reaction would be. Fred stood frozen ,his eyes wide in shock, so was George and so was the rest of class. The only person who looked pleasantly happy was Evelyn Carrow because she knew Nat was in trouble.
"Well Potter - Clearly you are bold to talk back at me . Can you tell me the answers to the question I asked. If you answer correctly then perhaps I'll consider not punishing you. Failing to do so and you'll serve detention." Snape told her.
Evelyn was in complete Glee at Snape's instruction. She knew that the girl who insulted her in the common room will get into trouble and serve detention with the head of her house. What she did not expect was Nat to answer the question. Her mouth fell to an "O" when she heard Natalie say " 'For your information, Sir, 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. ".
Snape was surprised at her answer that he froze for a few minutes. Those green eyes speaking with full confidence made his heart sink as it reminded him of her mother with that red hair and those green eyes filled with determination. Swallowing slightly Snape opened his mouth and asked again "'What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?".
Nat gave him a small smile at this question , she obviously knew this because she grew up with a wearwolf. So she swiftly stated "They are the same plant, which also goes by the name of Aconite.".
"One last question, If you answer this correctly I'll give you 25 points. What is Weedosoros?"
Nat racked her brain for the answer. She had seen that somewhere, but where. She stood thinking for a few moments and Snape thought she didn't know the answer when it suddenly clicked her head! Weedosoros! It was a fourth year potion she'd seen in one of Charlie's old potion's textbook.
"Okay sit down Pott.." Snape started to tell her when he was interrupted by the girl. "It's a potent poison that causes convulsions , along with other unpleasant bodily side effects." Nat replied with a satisfies smirk on her face. Snape was surprised at the girls answer because she answered a fourth year potion question with ease which he had deliberately asked to check if she was as clever as her mother, apparently she was if possible even more. Snape gave a small smile in her direction and said "Excellent! 25 points to Slytherin."
Her friends smiled widely and Cat , Aurora and the guys clapped in appreciation. Nat's face broke into a huge grin as she sat down. She could have sworn she saw Athena clap slightly beside Evelyn Carrow who looked furious and looked like she would throw her cauldron at the girl.

"Today we'll be making cure for boils and you have to brew it with your partner the instructions are in board. You have the end of the class. Begin" Snape instructed them.
Nat who was partnered up with Cat told her to set up the cauldron while she gets the ingredients. She knew this by-heart

Add crushed snake fangs to your cauldron and stir.

Slice your Pungous Onions finely and place in cauldron, then heat the mixture.

Add dried nettles.

Add a dash of Flobberworn mucus and stir vigourously.

Add a sprinkle of powdered ginger root and stir vigourously again.

Add pickled Shrake spines.

Stir gently, so as not to overexcite the Shrake spines.

Add a glug of stewed horned slugs.

Add porcupine quills.

Finally, wave your wand over the cauldron to finish the potion.

Nat and Cat talked between class through their heads, which was bonus because not only can they discuss the potion but also what happened at the start of class.
"Since when did you mug up the entire textbook byheart?"Cat asked her while slicing the Pungous Onions.
"Bill taught me for two years , that is when I was seven. After Percy joined he made me pro with practice also plus learning from Bill's old textbooks." she replied while adding dried nettles.
"Wicked! And nice work in shutting Snape. He was a prick to Fred." Cat told her "And how much should I sprinkle ginger root?"
"A pinch would be enough".
After brewing the potion (Snape who was doing rounds was watching the two girls quietly brew the potion was impressed with the progress. He knew that there's was the perfect potion) they walked over to Snape's desk who had just finished marking two Gryffindor's . The girls gave the two Gryffindor's smile who looked shocked but smiled in return. They then placed the vile on his desk in anticipation Snape looked at the potion and gave them a smile, with that they walked back to their table. After everyone submitted their vials "It seems as if Miss. Potter and Miss. Bla...Tonks brewed the perfect potion. Some of you could use their help" Snape announced aiming the last part at the Twins who just glared at him.
"Homework to be submitted this Friday, Class dismissed".

The twins were furious with what happened in potions, Not only Snape deducted points (They didn't care) , he had insulted them and Natalie took that opportunity to show off. They approached her with a glare and saw she was talking to Cat, Aurora , the Slytherin boys whom they loathed and surprisingly Lestrange.

"Oh Look George! Our Snake!" Fred said aiming to get Nat's attention. At his voice Nat turned around to face him. She gave them a small smile (which Fred found cute) but dropped her face to a sad frown when she saw their faces glaring at her with cold eyes. "Which one Fred? There are too many? Did you mean the red head?" George asked. "Yes Georgie the very same! Look at you Natalie, a shame that your in Slytherin. And the friends you made! All stuck up pure-bloods. Are you going to ditch us now? I thought loved us, Clearly I was wrong!" Fred told her with an icy glare . Nat felt her heart drop. For a second her heart wrenched and her gut pulled her down, she felt a lump on her throat and then suddenly the sparkle in her emerald green eyes vanished and it was replaced by blank and icy cold glare.
"What. did . you. say? "
"You heard me."
"Well, Weasley" Nat started to say and saw the twins faces flinch a little when she called them that. Fred felt worse now.
"For your information, my friends are great and are not stuck-ups. And I am a Slytherin. Face it and You're the ones who ditched me remember? For your information the only ones who hasn't grasped the fact I'm here in Slytherin are you two, the others are fine with it. But I'm not living to prove anything to you both!" Nat told them coldly.
"Well we ditched you because you are making friends with judgemental pricks. And Lestrange? Really Natalie. After everything her family did?" George asked defending themselves.
Athena felt her heart wrench at that comment, she was scared of how Natalie will respond to them seeing that she told her to stay away from her but Natalie's response surprised her.
"Well George you don't even know Athena. How dare you say something like that! She's an amazing person and if you can't see that then I feel sorry for you! Everyone deserves a chance to prove themselves different so all I did was give her that chance because I'm sure no one else gave her that chance. And my friends are not judgemental pricks. The judgemental arses here are you guys because YOU'RE THE ONE'S JUDGING ME OR MY FIRENDS FOR BEING IN SLYTHERIN YOU BLITHERING IDIOTS!" Nat told them screaming the last part across the corridor. People turned to watch what's going on. The twins froze because Nat was scary when she was furious and her she was screaming at them, tears were forming in her eyes and before she could let them she gave a loud sob and Ran in the opposite direction.
Her friends were glaring at them as they ran off behind her calling her name. Athena stayed back , looked at the twins and told them "You guys lost one of the most caring and understanding person I've met. I'm sorry for making that impression on you and making it one of the reason's for your loss. I hope you guys understand that not all Slytherin's are bad and make up with Natalie".

The twins were shocked at what the brunette witch just told them. They noticed that her grey/green eyes were kind but sad and they felt bad instantly. They had no idea that Nat would burst like that and they knew if she did it's going to take a long time for her to forgive them. But the twins were stubborn and wouldn't let it slide off easily. If Nat hates them then their ties with Nat were over. They hate her too.

Nat felt empty her mid was blank and her vision was blurry with tears. She didn't know where she was running because her legs were acting on their own accord. She heard muffled voices of her name being called but she didnt turn back. She kept running and running until she hit something hard and felt down on her back. Her bag fell from her shoulders and all its contents fell on the floor, ink bottles broke and everything was soaked. She scrambled pick her things and wipe her eyes when saw the thing she hit was actually Hagrid. Hagrid gently picked her from the floor and placed her on her feet, she took out her wand and muttered "Reparo" a charm Percy taught her, and looked at Hargid. She was about apologize to him when Hagrid looked at her tear-strained face and asked "Blimey Natalie. Wha' 'appened?".
"Nothing Hagrid." Nat said sniffing and wiping her eyes. She then looked at him and gave a fake smile but Hagrid saw right through it and told her "Come here lil' one" opening his arms and pulling into a huge hug. Nat felt like she was hugging a huge teddy-bear, Hagrid's hug was so warm and soft that she stayed like that for a while before a bunch voices interrupted her. "Nat!" her friends called out to her, they were panting and catching her breath before Michael said "Merlin. You can definitely run for your life.". Nat actually gave a small chuckle from her blotchy red face. Her friends smiled at her when Terrance said "Mikey! Look you mad her smile. Make another stupid joke!". Nat continued chuckle at the two bickering boys because Micheal told Terrance that his jokes are not stupid which caused them to start bicker. Shaking his head at his friends Adrian Pulled her into a hug and said "Ignore those idiots ok?". Soon the four more pairs of arms joined and Nat was squashed in the group hug of five (six including her), but she loved it. Hagrid then said "See Nat. Whatever happens you have your friends with you! Now why were crying actually?"
"The twins were commenting on how she's changed because she was in Slytherin. They made fun of us also!" Aurora explained to him. "The twins? Der ya mea' Weasley Twins?"
"The very same!" Cat told him.
"Oh dear! That's Ba'"
Cat gave him a solemn nod. "But look at ya Nat! You'r smar' and kind. The twins will see tha' they are wrong. But you 'ave you'r friends" Hagrid told her sandwiching her palm between his two and giving it a small pat.
"Thanks Hagrid!" Nat sniffed.
"No problem yer! Why don't ya join me tomorrow aft'rnoon?"
"Sure!" The girls exclaimed.
With that the six of them walked back to the Slytherin dorm hand in hand , Nat who was felling a bit better was thinking that Hagrid was right. She had great friends and she was glad for having them. Maybe the twins were being complete idiots but that doesn't mean she should mope and ruin her life here at Hogwarts. She decided that if the Twins hate her then she wont bother them either. What she did not expect was to get pranked. The twins did prank her sometimes but that was just for a laugh not to humiliate her infront of the whole school and that's exactly what happened.
It happened during lunch when the twins changed her hair to bright red and spiky. Seeing her the entire hall burst into laughter . For some people the hairstyle might be okay, but for a eleven year girl definitely no. She was so angry that she vowed to get back at them and humiliate them equally bad. Seeing the people laugh at her she felt her blood boil but she just kept silent becuse she didnt want detention. But soon Nymphadora who approached her made her day. She had changed her hair to match Nat's hair and gave her a wink in her direction.

Seeing this Dora, received cat-calls from her table as she walked towards her friends. Nat didn't feel humiliated much now and to top Cat changed her apprearance and yelled "NOW WE ARE THE SPIKY TWINS NAT! LOOK!". Nat laughed at the bestfriend's action and yelled "THANK YOU MY LOVE! WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT YOU!".
"You think you look great Potter but everyone knows you look like trash!" Carrow commented.
"Well clearly, some were dropped head down as babies but your mother must have thrown you at the wall seeing you face!" Nat retorted back. A series of "Oooooo BURN!" were heard across the hall as her friends fell into fits of laughter. Honestly Nat didn't care about what the Carrow girl had to say because she wasn't bothered by such comments. She wished the twins didn't prank her though because it meant one thing. They have officially declared that she's out and it hurt.

For the rest of the day Nat had her spiky hair but Cat kept her spikes too, to keep her bestfriend company. They got a lot of laughs and taunting like "Nice hair! Did a Hippogriff throw up on you?" to which they replied "No, But your face sure looks like a giant piece of hippogriff shit!" , Nat was sure the twins came up with that comment to humiliate her but didn't care because she was going get back at them. They had transfiguration next which was okay. After transfiguration Cat and Nat walked towards the kitchen to set up their prank. Nat knew the location of the kitchens thanks to Remus.

Aurora had returned to her dorm after saying bye to the boys and promising them to meet at the Coomon Room before dinner. She walked in and saw Athena was the only one there. The girl was still wary around the Lestrange as she naturally was because she was the daughter of her parents torturer. She silently walked to her bed and saw a letter from her grandmother on the bed. She saw it and took the letter with trembling hands. She had feared her Gran's reaction to her in Slytherin. Like Nat she was shocked to be Slytherin and feared rejection. She walked to her the window to read it.

Aurora Alice Longbottom,
I am absolutely disappointed with you. Getting sorted into Slytherin was bad but being with that Lestrange girl? I will not allow that? HOW CAN YOU BE SO DISRESPECTFUL! SHE IS THE DAUGHTER OF BELLATRIX LESTRANGE! DO YOU LOVE YOUR PARENTS AT ALL!
They will be absolutely disgusted with you for being in Slytherin and to be friends with that filth? Do you care for what your parents sacrificed themselves? It was so that YOU will be raised right and here you are being friends with BLOOD-PURITY FREAKS! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS AURORA!
I need you to stay away from Neville. You will not write to tour brother at all because I want to raise atleast one grandkid proper. If I find you writing to Neville or talking to him when he joins Hogwarts you will be disowned. I am so disappointed. And don't you dare talk to that Lestrange girl.
Augusta Longbottom.

Seeing what was written Aurora was broken. Her heart shattered into million pieces and a lump formed into her throat before she broke down to loud sobs. She couldn't believe her Gran was judging her. She loved her parents but can't she make her own choices? It wasn't her fault that she was sorted into Slytherin and it wasn't grans fault to believe that Athena was like her mother. But Aurora knew better, she's been observing the girl and she heard what she said to Fred and George. She decided to give her chance but her Gran's letter ruined everything. She couldn't talk to her brother, the only one who ever understood and loved her. She couldn't believe that she couldn't talk to her baby brother, the one she swore to herself that she'll protect no matter what. Now Gran had to go and ruin everything. But Gran is not the one making choices for her. Aurora was making her own choices because it's her life. She felt arms wrap around her. She opened her eyes and saw a mane of black hair and she knew it was Athena who was hugging her because she could hear her soft and gentle voice saying "Shh… It's okay.. everything be alright soon!" and stroking her hair. She hugged her back and staying there for a few minutes till she calmed herself down. Then breaking away from her hug she met her Blue eyes with Athena grey/green eyes. Looking at her "I'm sorry for being so rude. I was just..." she started but words lost her as she didn't know how to tell the girl anything. "It's not your fault, I would hate you too if your mother was the one tortured my parents. Yeah I know and I'm so sorry for never confronting you but I was scared of your reaction and I didn't have the guts to face your reaction. All I wanted was to prove to the wizarding world that I'm not mad like my mother and I really thought I could with you and your friends help! I'm so sorry If I'm the reason your are crying!" Athena apologised to her to which she replied "It's not your fault at all Athena . I just wish I have a chance to prove that I am worthy . I want to make my parents proud and I cant because my Gran is angry at me for getting into Slytherin. But I'm going to prove that not all Slytherin's are bad. "
Athena gave her a huge smile and hugged her again. She heard Aurora give a small sob again and she told her "It's okay cry as much as you want now but make sure after all those tears you never cry for the same reason again. So it's okay. Cry as much you want, I'm not going anywhere".

After their business in the kitchens Cat and Nat returned to the Slytherin common rooms and up their dorm only to see Aurora dissolve into tears. What was really surprising that she had slid down the wall and sobbing into Athena's arms and Athena was whispering softly to her while stroking her. Shocked they walked over to the pair of them and knelt down. "What happened Rpra?" Cat asked her softly. Aurora broke from her hug and gave Cat her letter. The two girls read the letter and by the time they finished Nat snatched the letter, threw the letter away and hugged her friend tightly and whispered "She'll realise that you are an amazing grand-daughter and your parents are proud and love you no matter what.".

The girls spent sometime consoling Aurora that everything will be fine but soon it was time for dinner and Nat and Cat were excited to see the outcome of their prank. As promised they met the boys at the Common Room and walked to the great hall together. Halfway through dinner Nat saw Fred's hair turn bubblegum pink and his nose became longer as it began to fall to his chin. His ears began to grow to wide pointy elf ears. George's teeth began to fall out one by one and he was shocked by that and began screaming. His skin began to erupt into boils. The entire Hall started laughing at this as the saw the Weasley Twins getting pranked. Fred turned red which looked hilarious because his huge hooked nose looked liked a huge tomato and his ears looks like red leaves. The Slytherins couldn't control their laughter that everyone forgot about Nat's hair as their attention was with the twins now. They glared at her which only made her laugh harder as she high-fived Cat. Aurora who was sad a few minutes back was now howling in laughter forgetting all her worries and Athena was happy for her. Even her worries faded as she saw the looks the twins gave Nat. This was truly one of her happiest memories because she rarely had any but any moment where she felt truly happy she'd cherish it.

Athena's life could be described in one word. Miserable.
Right from a tender age she had witnessed all the cruel things her mother did. From hearing the screams of tortured victims to watching them die, Athena has seen it all and she still heard those screams of pain and piled of corpses in her nightmares. Athena wanted it all to go away. She wanted to forget all those horrible memories and lead a normal life. But for a Lestrange, normal wasnt even in the vocabulary. Being a Lestrange is hard. She is expected to her blood line pure and learn to consider anyone who wasn't pureblood as filt. But those stereotypes never entered her head for some reason. She knew if the Dark Lord rises she would have to join him as a death eater and keep up the name her mother had kept. But she hated being a murderer , Killing innocent people wasn't her. Athena wanted seven normal years at Hogwarts. She wanted to be free, have a chance to prove to the wizarding world that she wasn't a serial killer like her mother and that she is her own person. But she knew if she started talking to muggle-borns or blood-traitors she'd be disowned which she didn't because she'll die in the streets.
She also wished she had friends, something she never had because she was locked up in a mansion in the company of house-elves and her closest relatives. Her had an okay-ish relation with her aunt. If you remove all those sterotypes, her aunt is actually kind and understanding which she learnt. She also had a cousin named Draco who was two years younger than her whom she actually loved. They had a sibling bond that she hoped always remained. She was over protective of her brother and tried to teach him not to follow the blood-purity nonsense which she was unsuccessful. But she still loved him dearly and she knew that she can actually change him, but her uncle will probably kill her if she did so.
When she came to Hogwarts the only person she knew was Evelyn because her father knew Uncle Lucius and they have met a couple of times. But she didn't really like her because she was a stereotypical blood purity freak and was too controlling. She started hating the girl when she came to Hogwarts. The reason was that she started talking to her cousin and her friends Natalie Potter and Aurora Longbottom. Athena knew what her mother did to the Longbottom's but it just made her more determined to prove that she was not her mother. She was scared of frightening Aurora but she wanted to try and become her friend. Natalie was one of the most caring and understanding person she met. She welcomed her with open arms without judging her. She was thankful for having her in her life. When Natalie smiled at her on her first day at transfiguration she wanted to stay with her and cherish every moment she had with the girl because Natalie gave a very loving vibe, her eyes were kind and soft that made Athena's worries go away. She wanted Nat to trust her be her friend because she knew she met a gem of a person. Since she knew only a few people, meeting Nat was like a gift from heaven. She wondered how can a girl have it all- Kindness, Understanding , Determination, Love, beauty and brains.
Catherine was another person whom she wanted to cherish. She was the only family she had who understood her feelings and fears. She always wondered what it was like if her Aunt Andromeda had taken her in instead of the Malfoy's but then she thought that she'd never have met Draco or Dobby. Life was cruel. So was Evelyn. That horrible excuse of a human had written to Uncle Lucius that she, Athena was talking to blood-traitors and half-bloods. So she received an angry letter from her uncle who ignored her existence until now. It said that she was not talk to them, if he found out that she was talking to them, she'd be pulled put of Hogwarts and disowned. She was terrified of what her uncle would do to her and her friends so she just decided to stay away from them.
She had already told Natalie to stay away from her for her own good. She knew it was stupid to push her away but till she finds a way of sorting things she had no choice.