YaoiLovinKitsune: Exactly ;)

guest627: I love that they're friends too! I love writing the books from a Slytherin's perspective, it's stretching me on how do I follow the main-plot, while keeping in mind that Aurora wouldn't be as involved. a romance...well, they're still young, but anything is possible !

Thank you all for reviewing, I love seeing your feedback & getting to answer !


"Did you see him?"

"No, where was he?"

"With the tall kid with red hair."

"Did you see his face?"

"Did you see his scar?"

Whispers about Harry Potter filled the halls of Hogwarts the next day. Students would line up outside of classrooms or walk back and forth through the halls, just in hopes of catching a glimpse of the famous eleven-year-old. They clogged up the corridors, making it even harder for the other first-years to navigate the already confusing castle.

"Stupid, famous Potter," Draco had groaned, nearly tripping over a group of fourth years that had decided to camp out in the middle of the corridor, waiting outside the Great Hall in hopes of spotting the first year. "He must love this."

Aurora shrugged in response, not really listening as she dodged a second year, who had already passed by earlier, his head swiveling to try and be the first to spot Harry. Aurora considered herself to be as unlucky as the rest of Hogwarts. She hadn't been able to see Harry or Hermione or any of her other friends from the train earlier.

On the other hand, and compared to some of the other first-year students, Aurora was extremely lucky to have Cedric's wealth of Hogwarts knowledge at her fingertips. Over the summer he had given her plenty of tips and tricks on how to survive and navigate the castle that she had started writing them all down:

- Hogwarts had one hundred and forty-two staircases, but many had tricks stairs that would disappear at random

- one of the massive library doors was completely normal most days, except for the second Wednesday of the month and quarter moons when it would

turn to solid stone

- never gossip on the second landing of the grand staircase, there is a portrait of a shepherdess who loves to wander and spread rumors

And that was just the beginning. With this backlog of knowledge, Aurora felt confident that she could navigate the castle with ease…most of the time.

Beyond the normal twists and turns of the castle, the Slytherin first years also had to deal with navigating the even deeper and darker twists and turns of the dungeons. Another Slytherin prefect had led them from the common room to the Great Hall the next morning for breakfast, and Aurora had felt practically dizzy as she stepped into the sunlit stone hallway. She couldn't be certain, but she could've sworn they hadn't taken so many turns the night before, and wondered if the prefect had taken them a different way on purpose.

The ghosts were an entirely other obstacle. They flew in and out of walls and doors at will, often scaring unsuspecting students. Aurora learned quickly that the Bloody Baron was unreliable; he was much more likely to keep floating by than he was willing to stop and offer assistance. But where he was harmless, it was Peeves the Poltergeist she had to keep an eye out for. It was bad enough passing by him in the halls under normal circumstances, but if you were late? Peeves guaranteed to be an inconvenience of the highest degree: dropping waste baskets on heads, juggling spilled school supplies, or sneaking up behind, invisible, grabbing your nose and screeching, "GOT YOUR CONK!"

Somehow worse than Peeves was the caretaker, Argus Filch. Aurora had been warned about him as well, Cedric much too familiar with Filch's strict code of conduct. She had passed him a few times in the halls, always holding her breath, both for safety and for body odor. After breakfast on her first day of classes, Aurora had seen Filch threatening a Ravenclaw first year she could've sworn was one of the Patil twins (though which one, embarrassingly she wasn't sure) after the girl had accidentally tripped and knocked into a suit of armor that had been moving on its own.

Filch owned a cat called Mrs. Norris. Aurora adored cats, but this scrawny, dust-colored creature, with its bulging, lamp-like eyes, was less cuddles and chin-scratches, and more yowling and tattling. She was incredibly smart, whisking off for Filch if she caught a student putting even a toe out of line. All students seemed to hate the two of them, and many dreamed of the day they could punt Mrs. Norris into the Black Lake.

The way the Slytherin first years survived all this? They stuck together.

The first morning, all ten of the first years had huddled together in the Great Hall, enjoying a breakfast just as delicious as the feast had been the night before, all still trying to take in the amazement of being at Hogwarts. As they were midway through the meal, a tall, black-haired man with sallow skin marched up and down the length of the table, his long black cloak billowing behind him as he silently handed out timetables to each student.

"Who's that?" Aurora asked, watching the man continue his path down the long Slytherin table.

"That's Professor Snape," Draco replied. They both watched with curiosity as the man stopped for a moment to speak sharply with an older Slytherin farther down the line. By the time the man continued moving down the table, the student was beet red and frantically scrubbing at his cheek with a wet napkin, his friends sitting around him all stifling their giggles until Snape was out of earshot. "Head of Slytherin house."

"He's in charge of us?" Theo finally spoke up, raising his head from the book he had stashed under the table long enough to glance down at Snape, who had nearly reached the far end of the table. Draco gave a solemn nod in reply.

"He's terrifying," Daphne squeaked from the other side of Aurora, resting her chin on the other girl's shoulder. When she had sat down that morning, Aurora had a twinge of worry that she would start by spilling all her secrets from the night before to the rest of the group. Instead, she had just given Aurora a sweet, but sleepy smile, before drizzling her porridge with honey.

"He's strict," Pansy cut in. She gestured for the group to lean in and lowered her voice. "My brother was a Slytherin too and told me all sorts of horror stories about him. One time he let a girl's cat go into the Forbidden Forest because she wasn't turning in her homework on time; said she could do with less distractions. And he tests his potions on all sorts of creatures, whatever he can get his hands on! And one time he -"

"Mr. Parkinson always had a knack for telling lies." A cold voice interrupted from overhead. Pansy's eyes widened in terror as the first years looked up to see Severus Snape cooly staring down at them.

"I take it you are my first years," he said, glancing around the ten near-shaking eleven-year-olds sitting below him. Aurora froze when his eyes met hers, but they moved on quickly enough to Draco and beyond. When no one spoke up, he continued. "The stories your siblings tell, Miss Parkinson, are true enough - I am not a man to trifle with. Where you may be the house of cunning, I promise you, I am not one to be tricked. My rules and expectations have been posted in the common room, I expect you've studied them quite well by now. You do not want to embarrass the great house of Slytherin, or there will be consequences."

He paused again. This time, as he glanced around, there was an almost softness to his sneer, like the beginnings of a fondness. A hint of awareness that he was speaking to the newest generation of his House.

"You are now and forever more a Slytherin. There is great pride and great responsibility within that title. Do not squander it."

And with that he strode back to the Head Table, his robes billowing a cold breeze in his wake.

After a few moments' pause, Daphne broke the silence.

"Like I said. Terrifying."

The only thing that broke the tension around the table was Blaise, who was the most calm and collected of the bunch. He held up his timetable and asked, "So what classes do we have this year?"

Every Tuesday at midnight, there was Astronomy, where they would study the night skies through telescopes, learn the names of different stars, and track the movements of the planets. It was a quiet class, and more than once she had to elbow Pansy awake, but it fascinated Aurora. It reminded her of the nights when she would climb the trellis of the cottage and stare up at the infinite stars above.

A few times a week, usually early in the mornings, the Slytherins trekked out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology with a dumpy little witch aptly named Professor Sprout, where they learned how to care for all of the strange plants and fungi that blossomed in the wizarding world. Aurora didn't mind much for the care of the plants themselves, but she was amazed to learn the multitude of uses that the plants had and what they all could do.

History of Magic was easily the most boring class. It was taught by Professor Binns, a ghost who had died in his sleep years ago, and had gotten up the next morning to teach, none the wiser. Binns would drone on and on in a monotone while the students who hadn't fallen asleep scribbled down names and dates and important facts. While Aurora felt she would never stop mixing up names like Gifford Ollerton and Gondoline Oliphant, Draco, whom she shared a bench with, was utterly fascinated.

"Father used to have me quizzed on all the names of important, pureblood wizards," Draco had explained after one class made Aurora's head spin terribly.

Professor Flitwick was the Charms teacher, who had to climb a stack of books in order to see over his own desk. Charms was one of the classes that Aurora had been anxiously waiting for, and Flitwick's excitement for the lessons was intoxicating.

Professor McGonagall was just as Cedric had warned: strict and clever, but kind and even excited to teach another year of young wizards. At the very beginning of their first Transfiguration class, which was composed of both Slytherin and Gryffindor first years, she started with a concise talking-to.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

Then she transformed her desk into a pig.

The entire class gasped in awe as the pig squealed loudly before McGonagall, smiling softly, waved her wand and it was a desk again. She set the class off to work taking complicated notes from their text and the board at the front of the room, before turning herself into a cat and nestling onto her desk patiently.

Aurora hitched up the sleeves of her robes and started jotting down every bit of information, taking care to match McGonagall's diagrams to near perfection. The last thing she wanted was to look back on her notes before an exam and be confused. Next to her, Draco was doing the same, his handwriting an impressively loopy cursive for an eleven-year-old.

Not too long after the class had settled into the comfortable ambiance of scratching quills and the occasional cough, Harry and Ron ran into the room, out of breath. They slowed to a stop a few steps into the room, Ron looking around while they caught their breath.

Draco glanced up at the duo and smirked. Aurora glanced up too, giving Harry a small wave. A sharp jab in her ribs nearly made her yelp, and she turned to Draco, who was shaking his head almost imperceptibly, tilting his head to the cat on the desk. Cat-McGonagall was slowly unfurling herself, eyes glinting.

"We made it!" Ron huffed. "Can you imagine the look on McGonagall's face if we were late?"

Harry barely had a chance to answer before the cat leaped from the desk, and McGonagall transformed, walking formidably towards the awestruck boys.

"That was bloody brilliant!" gasped Ron, seemingly unable to close his mouth.

"Thank you for that assessment, Mr. Weasley." McGonagall gave them a half-smile before seriousness took over. "Perhaps, it'd be more useful if I were to transfigure Mr. Potter and yourself into a pocket watch. That way, one of you might be on time?"

"We got lost." Harry squeaked. His eyes were as big as saucers under the stare of the intimidating woman in front of him. Aurora felt for him - if she hadn't had Cedric's guidance of the castle or Draco's confidence to keep all the Slytherin first years together, she probably would've been lost too.

"Then perhaps a map? I trust you don't need one to find your seats?"

McGonagall gestured to an open bench directly in front of her desk. Ron gulped before sulking towards it, Harry following with his head down.

Aurora turned back to her notes, jotting down the final few points from the board. Draco had already finished, now toying with the bright feathers on his quill. Hermione was at the desk across the aisle from them, but she may as well have been miles away. It looked like she was writing a novel, her quill scratching furiously over her parchment. Aurora wished she would look up so she could wave.

After the entire class had finished with their notes, they were each given a match and instructed to try turning it into a needle. It was much more difficult than expected - McGonagall had made the complicated magic of transforming the desk seem so much easier than it actually was. What made the class go by quicker was the little competition Aurora and Draco made out of who could transfigure their match better. They had tied that day, and neither of them made much of a change to their match - especially compared to Hermione, who had managed to make hers silver and pointy.

"But it's still a match," Draco groaned quietly, crossing his arms and glaring up as Hermione stood beaming beside an impressed McGonagall.

The class that nearly every first year had been looking forward to the most was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Draco, Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle had been talking about it all week, to the extent that they had even gotten the near-silent Theo to join in their excitement. Unfortunately for everyone, lessons with Professor Quirell turned out to be no more than a joke.

"There is no way someone that scared of everything has ever traveled the world," Blaise groaned as the class packed up their belongings after another boring lesson.

"I wouldn't be surprised if coming to the castle was his first time leaving home," Aurora agreed, glancing back at the professor, who had taken refuge behind his desk as soon as class had dismissed, scanning through a dusty tome and muttering softly to himself. He looked quite mad.

It was true - Quirrell was a walking contradiction. So afraid of vampires that his classroom was decorated to the brim with pungent garlic, there was no way that his beloved turban - which no one had ever seen his removed and smelled nearly as rank as his classroom - had been a thank-you gift from a prince for dealing with a troublesome zombie. And the moment someone asked for any details of his tales, Quirrell would clam up, his stutter growing stronger as he changed the conversation to menial things: the weather, breakfast that morning, absolutely anything to distract from the topic.

The absolute best moment of the week, when she wasn't making friends or enjoying the challenges of her lessons, was when she finally got a chance to see Cedric. Most of the time, if she caught a glimpse of him in the halls, he was surrounded by his friends - a rowdy gaggle that was extremely intimidating to try and speak to. Luckily, when he caught her outside between classes, he was mercifully alone.

It hadn't been a long conversation, but it was enough to ease Aurora's nerves. Cedric had sworn up and down to her that while, yes, he was shocked to have watched her be sorted into Slytherin, he would never be disappointed in her. Her uncle - that was a different matter.

"I say just write him a letter and explain everything you just told me," Cedric advised confidently. He crossed his arms and stared into Aurora's eyes, making sure she was paying attention. "Your house doesn't define you, Rory. You define you. As long as you remain 'Aurora', then you'll never disappoint anyone. And if you do?" He shrugged. "Then they probably never had any interest in what was best for you."

Cedric had promised to check in with her more before racing off to his next class, disappearing again into the crowds of the castle. It had been exactly what she needed to hear, and she swore she would write a letter to Uncle Marius … eventually.

Even with all the wonders of Hogwarts, there was still homework to be done. Aurora tried to tackle it as it was assigned, a small study group consisting of Pansy, Daphne, Blaise, Theo, and her meeting in the common room after dinner. Draco would join occasionally when he wasn't exploring the castle with Crabbe and Goyle on his heels.

On Friday, Aurora was one of the first to the breakfast table. She had started cutting up her toast, slathering pieces with the delicious array of marmalade, butter, lemon curd, and jam, unable to decide on just one topping, when Daphne and Pansy arrived, the rest of the first year Slytherins not too far behind them.

"What's on the agenda today, ladies?" Pansy asked, snagging a piece of buttered toast from Aurora's plate. She slapped the brunette's hand away lovingly.

"Double Potions," Daphne sighed. She was twisting her blonde hair tightly around her index finger, tugging hard once everything had been coiled before releasing and curling again.

"What's wrong with Potions?" Aurora asked. She took a bite of her jam-smothered toast, pulling the plate out of reach before Pansy could snag another piece for herself. "Honestly, I can't wait. I've always been fascinated by potions."

Pansy rolled her eyes and scooped herself a portion of eggs. "She doesn't like smelly things. Or explosions. Or getting dirty. So basically all the fun things that come with making a potion."

"It's not just that!" Daphne let go of her lock of hair and slumped in defeat. "It's with the Gryffindors. And I don't want to make a fool of myself and have them make me miserable for it!"

"Lucky for us, it's with Snape." Draco strode up to the table, Crabbe and Goyle in tow, as usual. "Even if he doesn't coddle us, he'll always favor us over Gryffindor." He said Gryffindor the same way he would say ogre snot.

As the Slytherin first years finished breakfast, gathered their belongings, and headed to Potions, Aurora mulled over the past week. There hadn't been favoritism from any teacher - even McGonagall was the one to scold Harry and Ron, both in her own house, when they were late to Transfiguration. They had all treated each student like a young witch or wizard excited to learn, no matter what house they had been sorted into.

Potions was down in the dungeons, just a few turns away from the hidden entrance of the Slytherin common room. The walls were lined with pickling jars, all neatly labeled, with odd, dark shapes floating freely inside. Aurora could tell the Gryffindors were uncomfortable in the space, but the Slytherins felt at home - the atmosphere was cool, yet homey, just like their common room.

Entering the room, Aurora noticed Hermione was already there, sitting at a table alone. Just as she worked up the nerve to try and join her, Daphne grabbed the sleeve of her robe.

"Aurora, sit with us, please, before Tracey can." Her blue eyes were wide, flicking over to the other first-year, who had taken to letting her black hair fall dramatically in front of her sullen face. It took Aurora a moment to understand that Daphne wasn't trying to keep her away from the Gryffindors - she hadn't even seen the lonesome Hermione yet -, she just wanted one of her new friends to sit with her.

Aurora nodded and joined the table, taking the fourth chair alongside Daphne, Pansy, and Theo. As she sat, Hermione glanced over and gave her a small wave. Aurora waved back, excited to finally reconnect with her train companion, but her excitement quickly turned to confusion as Hermione's face flushed and she turned away hurriedly, trying to busy herself by digging around in her satchel. Aurora glanced to the other Slytherin-only table, catching the end of Draco's sneer in Hermione's direction before he leaned over to whisper something to Blaise, making him chuckle.

"This class is going to be a piece of cake," Pansy mused, resting her chin in her hands. "Snape loves us."

"He didn't love us at breakfast yesterday, when Goyle nearly got detention for trying to fling food at the Gryffindor table." Theo pointed out.

"The girl was this close to being covered in porridge if Snape hadn't stepped in." Aurora glanced over at Theo, who was nodding sagely, and noted that this was the first class he wasn't smuggling a book under the table. "He was well miffed!"

"He doesn't not love us." Pansy grinned. Theo rolled his eyes as the brunette continued. "If he didn't love us, Goyle would have gotten detention. He didn't even take away house points!"

"He just gave us all that creepy look. Like this." Daphne did her best Snape impression, giving Theo a withering stare that looked out of place with her bright features.

Aurora, Theo, and Pansy couldn't help but laugh. Ever since the Slytherin's introduction to Snape on their first day, one of the first-year's favorite pastimes was to incorporate their Head of House's signature glare into conversation. They had all gotten rather good at mimicking it, but Daphne, surprisingly, nearly had it mastered.

Without any warning, the door at the front of the room flew open and the entire classroom sat up to attention. Snape strode in, his black cloak billowing behind him, looking as formidable as he had at the start of the week.

Snape started his class just as every teacher had: by taking roll. And, like so many others, he paused when he got to Harry's name.

"Ah, yes," Snape spoke barely above a whisper, his presence enough to hold the class's attention. "Harry Potter. Our new - celebrity."

He moved on quickly, amid the giggles from Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle. Harry slid as far down as he could in his seat, his cheeks noticeably red even from across the room, where Aurora was sitting.

When Snape finished taking roll, he clasped his hands together and addressed the class. "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 will hardly believe this is magic." He paused, taking a moment for his words to sink in. "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…"

He paused again, looking around the room, his eyes immediately drawn to the students who seemed to be paying attention the least. Namely: the Gryffindors. Aurora sat up straighter when Snape looked at her table, her attention focused solely on the potions master.

"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."

Aurora was mystified. In the silence that followed Snape's speech, she imagined all the potions she would one day be able to brew successfully, and how impressed Snape would be with her. Her hands itched with possibility, and she wished they could hurry up and get started. She had never wanted to prove herself to a professor more than she did at that moment.

"Potter!" Snape's once-soft voice boomed, making half the class jump. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Hermione threw her hand into the air, her fingertips stretching towards the dungeon's ceiling, but Snape ignored her, his eyes fixated solely on Harry.

"I don't know, sir," Harry answered, his voice small.

Aurora didn't know either. She couldn't remember reading anything about infusions in their textbook, but then again, it was a very big book.

Snape's lips curled into a satisfied sneer.

"Tut, tut - fame clearly isn't everything."

Aurora glanced around at the other Slytherins. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle were near shaking with laughter at their table, Blaise beside them with a hand over his mouth, probably trying to conceal his own smirk. Next to her, Daphne was twisting and pulling her hair again, even more frantically than before, and Pansy, who had been so confident at the start of class, had her eyes fixed on the desk in front of her.

"Let's try again," Snape cooly crossed his arms, his eyes never leaving the Gryffindor's. "Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Hermione stretched her hands as high into the air as she could without leaving her seat. This question Aurora was nearly sure she knew, but she was too terrified of Snape's reaction if she tried to offer up her own hand.

"I don't know, sir."

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?"

It was a hard scene to watch: Snape glaring down at Harry, while the scrawny eleven-year-old nearly melted down in his seat. Aurora noticed, however, that Harry refused to look away from Snape's sneering face. It was brave; she didn't think she could have done it.

"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

This time, Aurora had no doubts that she knew the answer. With a deep breath, she raised her hand. She held it perfectly still above her head, not waving it wildly around like Hermione was. Daphne pinched her other arm below the table, like a warning, but Aurora ignored it.

Snape noticed her raised hand too, and looked at her, for a mere moment, with what seemed to be a glint of appreciation. But he was scowling back at Harry within a second and, like he had with Hermione, he ignored her hand.

"Well?" Snape nearly growled.

"I don't know," Harry said again. "I think Hermione knew all of them, though, why don't you try her?"

A few people laughed, mainly Gryffindors. The Slytherin first-years knew when not to cross Snape - even the Draco's table had fallen silent. And Snape certainly did not look pleased.

"Sit down," he snapped at Hermione, who sat as if she had been slapped. "For your information, Potter, 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 -" Snape turned to Aurora, who had lowered her hand. "Ms. Rosier, would you be so kind as to inform Mr Potter of their differences?"

Daphne pinched her arm again, her eyes wide as she turned to face Aurora. The entire class followed until nineteen pairs of eyes were fixed on her, most wide with anticipation to see if a Slytherin would be snapped at too. Unsure of what exactly to do, Aurora stood beside her stool and, with more confidence than she actually possessed, met Snape's eyes.

"There is no difference, sir. They're the same plant."

"Correct. Also known as aconite. Five points to Slytherin." Snape gave her a curt nod and Aurora's cheeks flushed with excitement. As she sat she glanced over to the other Slytherins, trying to keep herself from grinning widely. They all stared back, equally as excited for her. Snape continued, pretending he didn't notice their silent celebration. "Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"

There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. As Aurora worked on copying down everything important Snape had said, she couldn't help but bask in the moment. She had earned her house points! She wasn't the first first-year to do so - Theo had earned Slytherin ten house points earlier in the week for his impressive Charms abilities, and Draco had earned them three for knowing that Gaspard Shingleton had invented the Self-Stirring Cauldron - but it was still exhilarating.

Things for the Gryffindors didn't improve as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mix up a simple potion to cure boils. Aurora was paired with Theo, who gave her a small smile. She had grown to enjoy Theo's company over the past week, and he made a rather excellent potions partner. They had both grown up watching people brew minor potions in their kitchens - Theo with his mother, Aurora with Mrs. Diggory -, so they each had a basic understanding of just how precise potion brewing was.

As the class worked, Snape swept around the room, watching as they weighed out dried nettles and crushed snake fangs, commenting and criticizing each pair. Even at Aurora and Theo he shook his head, commenting that their snake fangs needed to be a fine powder, with no sharpness remaining. Draco, it seemed, was the only one to receive praise. Snape was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way he had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid-green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon.

At the farthest table, Neville and Seamus were no longer sitting in front of a cauldron. In its place was a blob of twisted metal, rapidly leaking potion across the stone floors. Another Gryffindor - She had a flower name - Rose, maybe? Lavender? - yelped as drops of the potion splattered her shoes, leaving small burn holes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.

"That's not very pretty," Theo whispered to Aurora as they balanced near their still simmering cauldron. She grimaced in reply, feeling bad for the boy as a few of the boils began to ooze.

"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with a wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Neville whimpered, more of the boils bursting on his nose, and Snape turned furiously to Seamus. "Take him up to the hospital wing."

As Snape continued to chide the Gryffindors, Theo helped Aurora down from the stool. Together, they joined the other Slytherin first-years, who had all gravitated to the table where Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise still sat.

"This is exactly why I don't like potions," Daphne sighed, her robes still held up a few inches from the stone floor, despite Snape clearing the potion moments ago.

"Serves him right, the big oaf." Draco grinned, watching Seamus half-drag a still-moaning Neville out of the classroom.

Aurora wrinkled her nose. She hated to see Neville in such pain. He had been so friendly (if extremely shy) on the train, but - "If he had followed the instructions, this wouldn't have happened." She crossed her arms and Theo nodded beside her.

"The textbook does specifically say not to add the quills until the potion is off the heat."

Draco shrugged his agreement, then tilted his head to where Snape had started chastising Harry…again. "Great Lord Potter is finally being taken down a peg."

Crabbe and Goyle snickered.

Snape clapped his hands once as he took his place at the front of the room. He looked even more intimidating than he had before, especially now that the entire class had gotten to see what happened when he was crossed.

"I expect twelve inches of parchment due by next class, detailing the importance of precisely following potion instructions, and how Mr. Longbottom's blunder could have been easily avoided. Class dismissed."

Aurora had nearly made it to the door when Snape spoke again.

"Ms. Rosier. A word."

Aurora stopped moving, the professor's voice like a cold hand on her shoulder, freezing her in place. Suddenly, she didn't feel very good about raising her hand earlier. Maybe Snape hadn't wanted to scold one of his own house in front of the entire class but had no fear of doing so in private.

"Ooooo, trouble," Draco hissed to Aurora as he moved around her to get to the door. She made sure to step directly on his toes as she turned around.

"Yes, Professor?" She stood stock-still in front of him, refusing to fidget no matter how badly she wanted to. She didn't want to give him any reason to be cross with her.

Snape watched as the rest of the class filed out of the room, narrowing his eyes at Daphne and Pansy, who had tried to linger for as long as they could to eavesdrop on the conversation. Once the door to the dungeon was firmly shut, only then did Snape turn to meet Aurora's eyes.

"Speaking as your Head of House, Ms. Rosier, I see a great deal of potential in you."

Aurora bit the inside of her lip to keep herself from smiling at the unexpected praise. "Th-Thank you, Professor."

"I am not one to dole out compliments, so do not expect this to become routine. But I knew your parents."

He paused for a moment as if to gauge Aurora's reaction. Her eyes were wide and she was suddenly practically bursting with intrigue. As if he could sense this, Snape continued.

"Your mother was a dear friend. And your father was a great man and an even better wizard. It is a shame they -" He caught himself, his mouth tightening into a thin line. "I see a lot of your father in you. And because of that, I expect only great things."

He took a seat behind his desk. Aurora remained still where she was, her mind racing with the possibilities of questions she could ask Snape. Instead, he folded his hands and gave her a slight nod.

"You may go, Ms. Rosier."

Aurora nodded, mumbling her thanks and practically skipping out of the room. As she reached the staircase that led from the dungeons to the Great Hall, she was suddenly surrounded by Pansy, Daphne, Theo, Draco, and Blaise. Daphne pulled Aurora into a tight hug as if she had never expected to see her again.

"That was quick, Rora! What'd he want?" Pansy asked, looking around to make sure Snape hadn't followed.

"He knew my parents." was all Aurora disclosed.

As the first-years walked up and out of the dungeons, ready to spend their afternoon off lounging in the sunlight of the lawns, conversation fluttered from topic to topic, from Draco whinging that "Snape knows my father too, why didn't he ask me to stay behind?" to groaning about how Neville had earned them all extra homework, on top of everything they had already been assigned. But Aurora was hardly listening; she had too much on her mind after her brief conversation with Snape. Why had he stopped her and no one else? Who else knew her parents? What could she do to be as great as them? And, remembering the pause where Snape had caught himself, was there something else about her patents that people weren't telling her?


Another loooong chapter...and Snape revealing just a touch of a soft side, hmmm...

Thank you all for reading, I hope you're enjoying!