"I'm telling you, the Great Hall is over there!"
"No it's not, it's over there!"
Lily and Aludra were in an argument. Once they and Elizabeth had found their way to the Entrance Hall, they had realized that Lili and Aludra both thought the Great Hall was in opposite directions. Elizabeth simply stood by watching the argument unfold.
Soon, three people came down steps. It was Lily's cousins and brother, Fred II, Dominique, and James, all of them third years.
Elizabeth sighed and approached them.
"Excuse me, can you tell us which way the Great Hall is?"
Lily and Aludra both paused in their fighting and looked them.
"That way," Dominique said, pointing the way Lily thought the Great Hall was.
"I told you so!" both Lily and Aludra said.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes and grabbed both their arms, dragging them towards the Great Hall, calling to the three Gryffindors, "Thank you!"
Once the three girls were inside the hall with food on their plates, Elizabeth said something that was one her mind.
"If your arenas abandoned you, how come all your relatives seem so happy to help you?"
Professor Villeti paused behind the three girls, but none of them paid her any attention.
"I dunno. I think that my parents told everybody I was kidnapped, even their family and close friends," Lily said.
Professor Villeti kept walking, but she had heard what they were talking about.
Soon, Professor Slughorn, the head of Slytherin, descended from the head table to hand out the class schedules.
"Here's for you Ms. Potter. I knew both your parents. Two of my favorite students you know, even if they weren't in my house. You father, defeated You-Know-Who of course, and your mother, she was one of the best at jinxing and hexing I've ever seen, not to mention he talent on the Quidditch field. Both your parents were Quidditch players actually. I'm hoping to see you on the Quidditch pitch, eh?"
"Actually sir, I don't think I'd be good at Quidditch. I've never been good at sports," Lily said.
"Nonsense. I hear that's what your father thought as well. You'll see when you are taught how to ride a broom. In any case, I sometimes put together little dinners for some students. I was hoping you would join me, tomorrow night. A little back to school part, if you will. And of course, Ms. Malfoy and Ms. Zabini would be welcome as well. Ms. Zabini's father was in my little group, and Ms. Malfoys brother is as well," Slughorn said.
"Sure. We would love to come to your dinner," Aludra said.
"Very good, very good. I'll send notes along to you," Slughorn said, handing them their schedules.
Once Slughorn had moved along, Lily leaned over to whisper to Aludra.
"Why did you tell him we'll be there? The dinner just sounds boring!" Lily complained.
"My father said that Slughorn has all kinds of contacts everywhere. He uses the dinners to get in with the students, and he only picks ones that have potential. The students make up most of the ministry, Quidditch players, reporters, all different types of important people. He said to try to get into the Slug Club," Aludra said.
"My father said the same thing," Elizabeth said.
Lily nodded. It was always good to have contacts.
"What's our schedule like?" Lily asked.
Today we have Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws, then Defense with the Hufflepuffs, Herbology with the Gryffindors, then we have lunch, then Potions with the Gryffindors, the Charms with the Hufflepuffs. We have astronomy tonight with the Ravenclaws too. Not a bad day," Elizabeth said.
"Come on, it might take a while to find the Transfiguration classroom," Aludra said.
_Line Break_
Even though the three Slytherin girls left the great Hall very early, they only just made it in time to transfiguration just in time. The Transfiguration teacher, Professor Padma (there were two Professor Patils, who were twin sisters), was the head of Ravenclaw house. She had the ability to keep a class quiet without any effort. She had them transfigure matches into needles, and was astounded when Lily got it on her fourth try.
"Your Aunt Hermione did the same thing you know. I think we may have another brightest witch!" she told Lily.
Lily was and that she was like her aunt, but at least she wasn't like her parents. That she knew of anyway…
They next went to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Villeti gave them a talking to the minute they sat down.
"Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts. In this classroom I will teach you how to defend yourself against the many headed monster that is the Dark Arts. Defending yourself is not just knowing some spells and waving your wand around. You must understand your enemy. You must know what you are up against. I will be teaching you not just defense spells, but attack spells as well. This class is of the utmost importance. If you don't pay attention, you are likely to die," Professor Villeti said.
By the end of her speech, the Hufflepuffs were shaking, and the Slytherins were at attention. They couldn't go and die…
The next class they had was Herbology. Professor Longbottom was the head of Gryffindor house, but he didn't favor them.
Lily, Aludra, and Elizabeth shared a table with Hugo, Roxy, and their friend Kelly Finnigan.
Lily wasn't happy with sitting with her relatives, but Aludra and Elizabeth tried to comfort her without letting Hugo, Roxy, and Kelly know what they were doing.
"How has your day been?" Roxy asked.
"Fine. We had Transfiguration then Defense," Lily said.
"How are the teachers?" Hugo asked them.
"Professor Padma is nice, but Professor Villeti gives me a bad feeling," Elizabeth said.
"Professor Padma went to school with my parents. In the same year, but she was in Ravenclaw," Hugo said.
"We've had Charms and Transfiguration so far," Kelly said.
"Who's the charms teacher?" Elizabeth asked.
"Professor Bones. She's head of Hufflepuff," Roxy said.
After Herbology, the Slytherins and Gryffindors trekked from the Greenhouses to the Great Hall. Roxy, Hugo, and Kelly waved goodbye to the three Slytherin girls and went to join the other Weasley cousins at the Gryffindor table. Lily, Elizabeth, and Aludra talked over the day so far, and then rejoined their Gryffindor friends to go to potions.
When they found the potions classroom, there was already a line formed outside. Professor Slughorn opened the door and let the students inside. He greeted them all, but greeted this in his "Slug Club" with particular enthusiasm.
"Hello Ms. Potter. Enjoying your day? Ms. Malfoy! Good to see you! Ms. Zabini, how are you doing? Hello Roxy, Hugo. How do you like your classes?"
Once the students were seated, they got their text books out of their bags.
"Welcome to potions! Potions are difficult to brew, and you can never truly master the brewing of potions unless you have The Touch. You can brew an acceptable potion if you work hard, and might be able to continue on to NEWT level, but none can truly excel without The Touch. Now, today you will be brewing a simple potion to cure boils. The instructions are on page 53 in your textbook. Most of the ingredients you will find in your potion kits, but those you do not have, can be found in the student store cupboard."
He motioned to a cupboard with his wand, and it flew open.
"You may begin!" he said.
Professor Slughorn walked around the room, observing the students work. Lily found the potion to be simple, and on a few occasions she even changed the instructions to what seemed to be a more suitable way to go about brewing the potion.
When Professor Slughorn peered into Lily's cauldron, he exclaimed, "Aho! It see,s as if Lily here has The Touch. Just like her father! Yes, I predict that you will be an excellent potioner!"
Many students gave Lily envious stares.
Lily left the classroom in high spirits, and departed for Charms.
It wasn't until she was halfway there that she realized that Professor Slughorn had said that her father was also excellent in potions. She scowled. Oh well, it's not as if her grade in potions is what decides if she's like her parents.
Professor Bones, the head of Hufflepuff, was nice enough, if not a bit dim. She had a slightly vacant expression, but taught in a way that was easy to understand.
After Charms, Lily and her friends went to the Great Hall for dinner. As they entered the Great Hall, Lily's cousins beckoned them over to the Gryffindor table. They looked at each other, then went over.
"You can switch house tables at dinner," Rose said.
"Yeah, sit with us!" Fred said.
Lily, Aludra, and Elizabeth sat down.
"Everybody, this is Aludra Malfoy and Elizabeth Zabini. Elizabeth, Aludra, this is everybody," Lily said.
"Hey!" said Elizabeth.
"What's your favorite class so far?" Rose asked.
"Herbology," Elizabeth said.
"Transfiguration," Aludra said,
"Potions," Lily said.
"You like potions?" Albus asked.
"According to Professor Slughorn, she has The Touch," Roxy said.
"Wow! So is potion making really easy for you?" Scorpius asked.
"Yeah. I just kind of know what to do. I hardly even follow the instructions," Lily said.
"I wish potions was easy for me," Molly said.
"Well," Lily said, "I'm a Slytherin, I'm good at potions, looks like I'm not like the rest of the family."