Chapter Forty-Three

13th May was always quite an exciting day for Lucy. As she sat in the hallway, getting lots of birthday cards from her friends. She was thirteen now and felt quite happy to finally be a teenager. A school owl came flying in last last year as a small package and a card from her muggle family came through. Her pure-blood and half-blood friends fascinated as always as Ruth, Victoria and Poppy leaned in to see what she would be getting this year. She opened the card first as her mother had hand drew a huge 13 into the front. It read...

Dearest Lucy,

We all wish you a happy 13th birthday from St Albans. Your brother Eric is doing really well in school as he's began to buckle down, thank goodness. He's keen on woodwork. I hope you're having a good time at Hogwarts, I was so proud of you last year for passing your exams. Your father says hello from France, he wrote to me to tell you that he's doing fine and just wants you and your brother to do well. Now you're getting older, dear, I got you something special in your package this year. The brooch belonged to your great-grandmother on your father's side. I think it really ought to belong to you as it was your father's side which had the magic ancestry. Happy 13th birthday.

Much love from your mother, father and brother. Lots of hugs and kisses. Xx

This made her open the package quickly. A brooch dropped out, a lovely badger brooch. Lucy picked it up as she understood the symbolism. She let out a tear of happiness. She placed it onto her robes as she gave a smile. The other thing in the package was a packet of Rowntrees Fruit Pastilles.

"That's a beautiful brooch, Lucy" Ruth spoke up as she admired it.

"Yes. I think this means my great-grandparents were Hufflepuffs like me...Well Silas was at least. Oh I'm so happy to know I'm carrying on the family tradition" Lucy answered in a soft tone of voice.

"Well done, Luce. You know if you want, I can ask my grandfather if he's heard of him and if so, I'l let you know if your great-grandmother was a muggle or not" Victoria offered.

Lucy just nodding as she thought that's such a lovely and helpful gesture. Perhaps a way of getting to know a bit more about her once mysterious family tree. As delightful a morning it was, somebody was missing. Argus wasn't anywhere to be see on this birthday morning. She presumed he forgot like last year and will panic as soon as he realizes. A broken quill she got last year, she won't ever forget that. Her 'Head of House' walked over as she passed her a birthday card.

"Thank you, Professor Burbage" Lucy spoke to her with a smile; she noticed her head of house's stomach was huge by this point.

"You're welcome, Lucy. Have a lovely birthday" Charity replied with a small wink.

Making her way back over to the staff table. She was ready to take a quick break soon due to her confinement. The older students guessed weeks ago that she was going to have a baby. Though before they could ponder what that meant for the house, the squib walked in with a card and something wrapped in old 'Daily Prophet' newspaper.

"I haven't forgotten this year" Argus said proudly as he passed the card and gift over.

"Thank you" Lucy replied as she gave him a quick but tight hug.

Leaning back and opening the card. Which had the usual message of happy birthday from her squibby friend. The gift she was most excited for as it felt thick, she unwrapped the month old newspaper wrapping and a book called 'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3' fell out.

"I thought it be useful for your third-year in September. My brother doesn't need it anymore" Argus explained.

"It is so useful. Thank you" Lucy replied.

Some more students came in from the great hall. Laughter from the Gryffindor table could be heard. As Eileen's even shorter hair was revealed, she almost forgot she cut it that short as she barely noticed it. Olive got up with her small group of friends as she asked her in a nasty tone of voice...

"Botched haircut again?"

"That's nothing to do with you, I was just tired of it" Eileen hissed as she went to shove past her.

"I suppose you already being ugly, it doesn't matter. And of cause you don't have any parents to tell you any better neither" Olive continued.

"Didn't your father kill your mother?" Euphemia dared to ask.

Eileen giving a scoff as she got out her wand. Only putting it down when she felt Albus Dumbledore's eyes on her. The Gryffindor girls briefly looked behind themselves to see their 'Head of House' looking over. Olive just giving him a wave as if everything was alright.

"Yes, Eileen. Don't forget who our head of house is. The most powerful wizard in Britain. So be careful" Olive snarled quietly.

"Go rot in Hell" Eileen snarled back.

"Tell me, Eileen. This Tom Riddle...Isn't he Slytherin's head of house really? Anything he does, you have to do otherwise you face punishment such as your botched haircut? I bet you Slytherins would lick hit boots if he asked" Olive spoke with a small giggle.

"No" Eileen tried to protest.

"Quick! He's looking!" Euphemia shouted.

Making Eileen quickly look towards the Slytherin table in panic. Though he wasn't even there. The girls just laughed some more as she's proven them right as it was obvious the Slytherins were scared of him and obeyed his every whim. The students from the other houses found it amusing, not knowing how dark his ideas actually were at this point in time.

"What were you saying again, Eileen?" Olive asked rhetorically.

Eileen just giving a scoff as she shoved past them and went to the table. Sitting down as she began eating her breakfast. Olive and her group of friends soon left the great hall altogether.

...

Exams were fast approaching and so lessons became dull again. Potions was once again about the 'Swelling Solution'. Which would swell anything it touched in size, Lucy was trying her best to master it. Though she seldom got help as Slughorn didn't think she was much good at it and he tended to focus on those he thought could advance. She looked over at Eileen who was writing something down in her potions book before cutting a bit of powder. She gave a smile as it went in with no problem, her short hair had made it easier for her as she didn't have her long black hair getting in the way. Lucy just focused again as she began to crush the said powder as instructed. Tom Riddle meanwhile looked like he was doing it in his sleep as he barely had his eyes open as he added two tablespoons of water in his cauldron. Myrtle giving Lucy a slight budge as if telling her to focus, making her suddenly look down upon her own cauldron. It didn't even look half-done. Slughorn finally walked over to their desk as he checked on Myrtle's, giving Lucy's a mere glance. Tutting as he remarked...

"Lucy Norris. You aren't even as good as some of my first-years, my dear girl" Slughorn spoke with a sigh.

"I'm really trying, Sir" Lucy promised with a sullen look.

"I really don't want you to do this but you have to join my remedial class which takes place every Saturday" Slughorn began.

Lucy overheard some quiet sniggering from a couple of the boys. They knew what the remedial class was. It was for students who had no chance of passing without extra help. Only a handful of students were unlucky enough to need this, Slughorn looked at her cauldron again. He thus wrote down the time for Saturday and told her he expects her every Saturday in his classroom. She just took it with a sigh, feeling like a failure.

"Remedial students shouldn't be in here" Avery spoke up quietly from a few desks down to Rosier.

"Maybe you need etiquette classes" Myrtle spoke back to them; defending her friend.

"Etiquette classes? Is that something only mudbloods know about?" Avery asked a bit louder.

Though he got a stare from Slughorn as the professor walked over to his desk. He leaned in closer to him as he said quietly..."We don't use the word 'mudblood', Avery. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir" Avery meekly answered; forgetting that not everybody thought the same as them.

Slughorn gave him one more glance before returning to the front. He would only give him a detention if he heard it a second time. Eileen had a ghost of a smile, it was about time she thought. Tom looked as if he was minding his own business but he was listening with interest really. The classroom got much more quieter after that as the students carried on. Avery began talking to Rosier again as he whispered in an even quieter tone...

"I thought Slughorn was one of us"

"He is but he has to maintain reputation in front of them. Like Professor Burke" Rosier insisted in a quiet tone of voice back.

Avery just shrugged before focusing back on his potion. Tom giving Slughorn a brief glare from behind his cauldron. The professor felt the mood shift as he sat behind his desk, glaring back at the future death eaters. For the first time, he saw them as something negative. Though he brushed it off as teenage boys being teenage boys, they were just closing ranks.

...

"I'm so embarrassed" Lucy admitted to her Hufflepuff friends later that night.

"Don't worry about it. You're not the first person to have to take Slughorn's remedial classes. He only puts students he wants to improve in there. He's a sweetheart really" Ruth tried to assure her.

Lucy just shrugged as she leaned back on her bed. Slightly dreading the weekend class. The next couple of days went by very quickly and it was Saturday before she knew it. Her note from Slughorn read Special Potions Class: 8am-10am, Saturday. Thus that's where she was heading on this Saturday morning. She got into her robes and began walking down the hallway. She briefly passed Oakleigh Burton as she made her way to the dungeons. Passing the Slytherin common room, she gave a nervous knock at the door before opening it to find a mixture of students sitting at the desks.

"Welcome Lucy Norris...Welcome to the remedial potions class...It's not as bad as what people make out I promise" Slughorn announced.

The teenager looked around the room. She spotted Archibald Filch and Orford Umbridge in the corner together. Both boys looked surprised to see her, especially Archibald. He also looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him up however. Lucy noticed a lot of the students had the same look of surprise and dread. Now not every professor did these sort of lessons, Professor Beery from herbology was the only other professor who did it really. Lucy sat besides a sixth-year girl at the front (she looked as grim as she did). The remedial classes (or special as most students called them) were not something you admitted to if you could help it, they were known rather cruelly as the "classes for the dunderheads". She looked down upon a book on the desk which read Potions for Novices by Nicolas Flamel.

"Right. We are all here now and may I say that some of you have improved so much. Some of you may even reach acceptable" Slughorn began with that smug looking grin.

"I won't need potions for quidditch" Archibald insisted as he rested his hand on his chin.

"Archibald. We have been through this before. You might become a famous quidditch player. Stranger things have taken place but you need potions for other things like household chores. So please listen because you don't want another fail" Slughorn answered with frustration.

The lad just gave a sigh as he looked back down on the book. Slughorn wrote down Cure for Boils on the blackboard. Lucy gulped as she barely recalled that from the previous year. Orford looked equally as worried as he complained..."It's been years, Sir. I don't remember"

"I know you don't remember. Which is the problem...I'm trying to help you all" Slughorn reminded them.

He told them to open to page 25 where the 'Cure for Boils' potion was. Doodles were in almost every single one, some going as far back as the Victorian era. As Lucy found a century old niffler drawing at the bottom of the page. The girl besides her still refused to speak, even when Lucy gave her a polite smile and hello. Making her look back down upon the book again with a sigh. Slughorn giving one instruction at a time which was different from his usual leaving them to their own devices unless needed.

"Archibald Bard Filch!" Slughorn yelled as he spotted the boy teasing Orford with one of the snake fangs.

"Welcome to Hell, Lucy" Archibald spoke over to her as he gave his brother's friend a small wink.

Lucy shaking her head but smiling despite herself. She was grateful she only had one lesson with Archibald. He was just as bad in class as he was at home. Archibald chucked his snake fangs into the cauldron. Orford looked like his head was hurting already meanwhile.

"I've been here for one hundred years and I'll be here for one hundred more" a fifth-year Hufflepuff boy began singing from the back.

Making some students smirk again. Slughorn breathing in as he began to write down the next instruction. Sadly most of these students generally refused to learn which is why most of them failed. Archibald did not live up to the Ravenclaw name, most think he only got in because he pleaded to be put in the house of his parents to the Sorting Hat. Lucy and some others however generally wanted to improve as Lucy tried her best to focus.

"Now add some dried nettles" Slughorn carried on.

Archibald briefly placed the nettle onto an annoyed Orford's arm. He thus moved to the empty desk as it was starting to get on his nerves now. Lucy found this lesson very helpful so far but she understood why none of these students admitted to being in these remedial classes. Archibald for instance had kept very quiet, she doubts even Argus knows. She too would tell nobody now, she hoped her classmates would respect that and not go blabbing.

...

TBC