Deception

A drizzle settled as Amara headed to her second lesson. So far her first day of school had been manageable, though she could do without the rain. And the classes. And the students, of course.

She pushed her way through the small crowd and down towards the dungeons. She wasn’t at Hogwarts to learn, per say, but the things she learned were worth while. No, Hogwarts was there so she could weasel her way into Malfoy’s life.

Yes, maybe once upon a time when she was little she had wanted to go to Hogwarts for the same reasons everyone else wanted to. But that was in the past, back when her family was still alive. And Amara knew better than to dwell in the past.

Students gathered around Snape’s classroom, waiting for him to open the doors. She spotted Malfoy almost instantly and wicked grin grew on her face as she shoved a few Gryffindor out of her way.

“Malfoy,” She said, coming to stop in front him, Crabbe, and Goyle. Malfoy stopped mid-sentence to look at her, and at the last second Amara rested a hand on Goyles arm and smiled. “Goyle, so glad to see you again. It must be my lucky day.”

Goyle shrugged, unable to hide that grin on his face and blush on his cheeks. “Hi,” he mumbled shyly.

Amara tore her from Goyle and greeted Crabbe with a quick hello before focusing back on Draco. “So what is it we’re talking about, boys?”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Not that it’s any of your business but-”

The classroom door slowly opened and almost instantly kids began filing into the room. Amara followed behind Malfoy and Goyle. Her hand still clinging onto Goyle’s sleeve tightly, allowing him to lead her into the room.

“Here,” Amara said, pulling Goyle down to sit next to her. She caught Crabbe’s eye and whistled to him when he went to go sit down a row ahead of them. “Right here.”

Amara patted the seat to her left, and gave him the best smile she could muster up. Crabbe stood there, unsure if he should sit in front of them with Malfoy, or sit with Amara and Goyle.

Apparently Crabbe didn’t mind the aftermath of what was surely to come from Malfoy, for he slipped into the seat next to Amara.

With his brows drawn into a furrow, Malfoy looked at the threesome in disbelief.

Amara raised a brow and a mischievous look on her face before pulling her quill out of her bag. “You should take a seat, Malfoy, you don’t want to get into trouble.”

Draco gave her a dirty look before plopping down in the desk ahead of him. Amara knew she was playing a dangerous game. But she knew what Malfoy was capable of if she didn’t stand her ground now, he would always push her around.

Snape closed the door, the classroom automatically going into a hushed silence.

“Settle down,” he said as he walked to the front of the classroom. His gaze scanned the room.

Amara couldn’t help but zone out as Snape went on to talk about O.W.L.s and his expectations for the class, even though he believed half the class to be morons. Amara knew better than to not listen, but all she wanted to do was throw wadded up parchment at the back of Draco’s head.

Before she could truly decide if it was actually worth the risk to hit Malfoy with paper, Snape was talking about the lesson and giving her a look like he knew what she was thinking.

“…the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and sooth agitation…”

Amara raised a brow as Snape continued, flicking his wand so the ingredients would appear on the blackboard.

“You have a hour and a half…start.”

Amara sighed, before hopping out of her seat and collecting her ingredients. She paid close attention to her potion, of course, taking her time and zoning out Crabbe and Goyle, both of which were trying to start conversations with her.

She wasn’t the best student, by far, only paying attention to what she felt needed to be paid attention to. She was no Granger, but she also wasn’t an idiot.

“Potter, what is that supposed to be?”

Amara looked up, and glanced towards the back of the room. Her curiosity getting the better of her, as she paid close attention to this little stand off.

“The Draught of Pease,” Harry said, his teeth clenched.

A evil grin was on Snape face. “Tell me, Potter, can you read?”

Malfoy laughed, and even Amara couldn’t help but grinning. She was a Slytherin, she couldn’t help it when a Gryffindor squirmed.

“Yes, I can,” Harry said his hands were clenched tightly around his wand.

When Potter didn’t punch Snape in the face - which was what Amara was half hoping for - she began to lose interest and only caught a few lines between the two.

“Did you do everything on the third line, Potter?”

“No,” Potter answered quietly, barely audible to those in the front of the room.

“I beg your pardon?” Snape asked, that evil grin still on his face.

“No,” Potter said, loudly so the whole room could here. “I forgot the hellebore.”

Snape frowned, standing up straighter and looked down at Potter. “I know you did, Potter, which means this mess is utterly worthless. Evanesco.”

Potters potion vanished instantly, leaving him standing with an empty cauldron and a sour look on his face.

“…fill one flagon with a sample of your potion, label it clearly with your name, and bring it to my desk for testing,” Snape said as he walked to the front of the room.

Amara frowned, not exactly satisfied with her own potion, but figured she would pass.

Goyle yelped, his flagon shattering everywhere. Amara squealed, launching away from Goyle and grabbing on tightly to Crabbe. Goyle’s robes were set on fire instantly and the large boy was frantically trying to put it out.

Amara grabbed her flagon and rushed towards Professor Snape’s desk, wanting to get as far away from Goyle at moment.

“Here you go, Sir,” Amara said, setting her flagon on Snape’s desk. She brushed a shard of glass from her hair, giving her Professor a sheepish smile as the piece landed on the ground. She turned on her heel and walked away, not bothering to pick it up.

She grabbed her bag, resting it on her right shoulder before turning towards Draco, who just came back from Snape’s desk.

“Walk me to my next class?” She asked, linking arms with Draco. She gave him a shy smile, looking up at him through her lashes.

Draco smirked. “Of course,” he said, leading her away.