Four Hearts, Two Pathways

As I woke up in the Slytherin dungeons, and realized everyone had gone to breakfast without me; not even my roommate, who’s name I didn’t recall, went on. I sighed as I pulled on my robes and pulled my blonde hair up into a bun. Absentmindedly, I slipped my shoes on and grabbed my messenger bag which had all my books in it and slung it over my shoulder.

Walking through the empty corridors wasn’t always pleasant, only for the fact that the ghosts liked to mess with whoever was walking there. Luckily this time it was only Peeves.

“Aha! Who do we have here? Looks like a sixth year, but alas! I am not sure I recognize her,” said Peeves, circling me as I walked.

“Peeves, you old fool, it’s Atria Zephyr. You better get lost before I call the Red Baron on you,” I hissed. He immediately ran away and went off to scare first years. I mumbled something as he left and made my way to the great hall.

I entered the great hall to see Pansy Parkinson sitting next to Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini. I gave Blaise a partial smile and sat across from him. I felt the seat get weighed down on both sides to me only to discover Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe sitting on either side.

“Oye, really? You two can’t go sit by someone who isn’t smaller than you?” I snapped at the two dung heads. Goyle was kind enough to give me a dismissive wave as a response, while Crabbe found himself with his hand full of eggs and sausage. I shook my head in irritation and took out my schedule for the day, I had double potions first, which I was happy about, then Transfiguration, Charms, and two free classes. I figured Professor Snape had cleared two of my classes to train me better as a keeper.

“What classes do you have this year, Zephyr?” Draco said as he snatched my parchment from my hands. I groaned and held my hand out, a silent way of saying ‘give me back my things’ but Draco continued to fully examine my sheet, “I see you have double potions with the Gryffindors. How unfortunate for you to be stuck in a room with big-headed Potter and Weasley. Let’s just hope you don’t catch anything from them.”

I felt myself grow severely irritated as he continued to gaze at my paper in disgust. Not being able to stand it any longer I snatched it back and stormed out of the great hall, furious at how Malfoy was treating me. Almost everyone in the Slytherin girls common room knew not to mess with me while I’m not fully awake, Draco seemed he had yet to get the message. I ignored Pansy and Blaise calling me back, but instead headed back to the dungeons where my first class was. Pansy was the one I especially didn't want to deal with.

I settled in my seat and sat my head down on the desk and waited for the class to begin. I heard shuffling all around me and a snap come from my desk. I looked up to see Professor Slughorn there.

“Ms. Zephyr, did you not get enough sleep over the summer? Or do you just like wasting my class time?” said Professor Slughorn. I squirmed, knowing that any explanation I came up with would remark in points getting taken from our House. I knew that even though he was the new Potions Professor, he would take points for us misbehaving. I’d been a victim of that situation one too many times in my third and fourth years in Professor McGonagall’s classes.

Pulling out a blank piece of parchment from my bag and my quill, I started jotting down the notes scrawled across the board. When Professor Slughorn told us to brew Draught of Living Death, I knew I could do it. I grabbed an old book from the cabinet as I had forgotten mine for the day and opened to the page for the recipe.

When the potion called for the Sophophorus bean to be cut, I looked at it funny and just so happened to look over at Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. She was objecting to Potter squishing the beans but for some reason, I had a strange feeling he was correct. I squished the bean with my knife, and sure enough, I could cut it now.

I followed the rest of the instructions correctly and at the end of the class, it was brewing just like it was supposed to. We had a five minute break in between classes so if anyone needed to be elsewhere, they could go. Me? I just sat in the courtyard looking over my potions book. I felt someone looking at me so I looked up. Hermione Granger was standing in front of me.

“Can I help you, Granger?” I snapped at her. She shook her bushy brown hair but continued to stare at me. “What the bloody hell is on my face for you to be staring at me like that for?” I stood up and looked at her.

“You copied Harry, by crushing the Sophophorus beans. You could get in trouble for that, you know,” said Hermione. I shrugged. She held my gaze and used a condescending tone with me. I pulled a piece of lint off of my green robes, clearly ticking her off.

“You looked at him too, you know,” I said in the same tone she had used then I walked off to the classroom. I looked around the room when I re entered and went back to my cauldron. It was coming out exactly like the book had instructed. I poured the Valerian root in like the book instructed, while being watched by half of the Gryffindor house by now. I groaned a little to make it seem like I messed up on a part but smirked inside. I felt all the gazes disappear and stirred my potion ten times anti-clockwise.

At the end of the second part of my potions class, only two people had successfully brewed the Draught of the Living Death potion. Harry Potter and myself. Professor Slughorn had no idea who to give the potion to, seeing as how we were in two different houses and had no way to share the contents.

“Not to offend you, Professor Slughorn, but I just don’t want the potion. I just wanted to pass the class,” I said, with a smug expression. All of the students inside the classroom looked at me like I was bloody insane. I smiled and walked out of the room to go to Transfiguration.