The Beginning of the End

"I still can't believe Draco did that to you." Effie said to Harry as they all walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry shrugged.

"It's Malfoy. He's vial, you can't expect anything more or less." He said flashing her a smile. She smiled back and pulled gently at her skirt. She never stuck to the original uniform but the teachers never said anything about it. This morning it was the shirt and skirt with polka dot tights and lace booties.

Effie was silent while Harry, Ron, and Hermione continued to talk among themselves. She was hoping that she would have a letter from her mother. She had been having mixed feelings about her mom. She loved her and hoped she was safe and that her life was full but at the same time, she resented her for leaving. Maybe it was the fact that Lena left without saying a word. She just left a letter for her husband and daughter to read.

All Effie wanted to do was make her mom proud but, how is she to do that when she isn't around? She hadn't even told her mom that she wanted to be an Auror. She was waiting until her mom came home but it was becoming more clear everyday, that she isn't.

"Effie, are you alright?" Hermione asked, placing a hand on Effie's shoulder. She looked to Hermione who had a worried expression on her face, and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking about my mum."

Hermione smiled sadly as they sat down at the table. Before anyone had time to say anything else, Professor McGonagall walked down the table, handing everyone in her house, their timetable.

Effie picked up the paper and looked over her classes. Homework this year was definitely going to be hard to keep up with.

"The only class that I'm really looking forward to is Astronomy." Effie said taking a bite of her sunny side up eggs.

"I can't wait for all of my classes." Hermione's face was lit up like a Christmas tree. Harry and Ron were looking at her as if she was crazy. Maybe she was. Effie passed her O.W.Ls with Exceeds Expectations and Outstanding's, proving that she was an extremely intelligent witch. Her issue was, she was incredibly lazy sometimes. If she didn't want to do the work, she would push it off until last minute. So, technically she was a procrastinator.

Effie, Harry, and Ron all had the same classes so at least she wouldn't be alone and bored out of her mind. The four of them finished their breakfast and then got up to go to their first class, Potions. Effie caught a glimpse of Harry and noticed that he was looking at Ginny. She felt that strange pang in her chest again. She knew she had no chance, the way Harry looked at Ginny proved that.

Knowing that she needed to leave the room as fast as possible, Effie walked out of the Great Hall and to the Potions classroom. She saw Slughorn and smiled.

"Ah, Ms. Reynolds. Tis good to see you again." Slughorn said warmly. Soon, other students began to pour in. Hermione, Lavender Brown, Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Katie Bell, and several others. Professor Slughorn was about to start explaining the three potions that he had sitting out when Harry and Ron burst in. Effie bit her lip and looked away.

She was really looking forward to having this period without Harry around. It had all of a sudden become too much for her to handle. She had liked Harry in their third year but she thought that it had gone away, that it was just a fluke. Effie knew that her feelings were coming back but it was almost as if they had intensified.

Before she had too much time to think about it, Slughorn continued talking about the potions.

"Now, can anymore tell me what these potions are?" He asked and as expected, Hermione's hand was the first to shoot into the air.

"If I may, this one is Veritasserum, a truth potion. This one is Amortentia, a love potion. It's rumored to smell different to everyone according to what attracts them. For instance I smell freshly cut grass, new parchment, and spearmint toothpaste." Effie watched in amusement as Hermione trailed off during the end of her speech. She was completely drawn in by the potion.

"Of course, Amortentia doesn't cause real love, but it does cause powerful infatuation and obsession." Slughorn said putting the lid on the potion. Everyone in the room snapped out of their little 'spells' and their attention was back on Slughorn.

"Sir, what's that one?" Effie asked pointing to a small vile of potion. It was a golden color and looked very very tricky to make. Harry suddenly appeared by Effie's side and she inwardly groaned. He was unknowingly making it very hard for her to shove these feelings back down. She got so caught up in her thoughts that she missed what Slughorn was saying. The only thing she caught was 'Felix Felicis' and 'Liquid Luck'.

"You didn't hear anything he said did you?" Ron asked quietly. Effie shook her head with a sheepish grin.

"We have to make an exceptional draught of living death. Whoever's is best will win the liquid luck potion." He said giving her a small nudge with his elbow as they walked to their spots around the tables. As soon as Effie got situated, she began to make the potion. She picked up the knife and the Sopophorous bean. She knew from previous experience that this was going to be a difficult task. She placed the bean on the table and held it firmly with her left hand and with the right, she cut the tip. It was trying to wriggle out of her grasp but she kept a tight hold.

Once she had that taken care of everything was a piece of cake. She looked over to where Harry was standing, just five feet away from her. He looked surprisingly calm, like he knew what he was doing. She adverted her attention from him and back to her cauldron and added the last few ingredients, Asphodel, Valerian roots, and Sloth brain. Stirring the potion, she watched it turn into a deep purple and then a lilac. A frown formed on her lips when it stayed there.

In her moment of uh...well, staring, she put too much wormwood into the mixture. With a sigh she put her head in her hands and closed the Advanced Potions book. Effie watched with envy as Slughorn gave Harry the vile of liquid luck. It wasn't that she had lost, it was the fact that she had let Harry distract her from her work. That definitely had to come to an end.

Effie, Harry, Ron, and Hermione packed up their things and left the room.

"Are you okay, Effie?" Harry asked. She looked up at him and smiled briefly.

"Yeah, just tired." The lie made her feel terrible but it wasn't like she could just come out with the truth with this.

"Well, this is where I leave you three. I have Ancient Runes this period." Hermione said, excitement littering her face. Effie laughed and watched her practically skip off. She, Harry, and Ron had to make it to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"D.A.D.A should be interesting this year now that Snape's teaching it." Ron said, his face screwed up in disdain. Effie was quiet as they walked into the classroom. It was very dark, the only thing that lit the room was a few candles giving it a warm glow, much like Snape had done to the potions room.

Effie sat down at one of the tables and pulled out whatever she needed. Snape walked into the room and everyone that was talking fell silent. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Draco looking at her. She turned to him, confusion probably covering her face. He smirked and gave her a wink. Disgusted, she looked forward and tried her best to pay attention.

"Take out your books and turn to page 30. Since I know that some of you are incompetent, we'll start you out with something simple. A two page essay on Vampires." Snape's mouth barely moved when he spoke, it was almost kind of creepy. The whole classroom groaned, except for Effie. This was easy for her.

The rest of the class was spent reading and taking notes so that they could later on write these essays.