From Snakes and Lions

Chapter 4

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win because 

you don't know how to lose

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The first year came and left in a flash for Camellia Potter, by the end of term, her brother had saved the whole school from Professor Quirrell and his obsession with vampires and had stolen the House Cup away from Slytherin. As much as she had wanted to go back home when she first arrived, now it was the last thing she wanted to do. She had barely spoken a word to her brother the whole year they were at Hogwarts, the only times she did talk to him were at Christmas with the Potter family and whenever she told him to stop trying to get Draco Malfoy in trouble. 

But it was now time for her to go back home, and she was terrified. She had gotten to know plenty of different people in her first year, Pansy Parkinson, for example, had become Camellia's best friend; Blaise Zabini, as promised, had been her brother whenever she felt homesick; Draco Malfoy had also become fond of Camellia, protecting her whenever he heard someone talking about her; Theo Nott was often trailing behind Camellia, reading the same books as her and making odd little comments about them as well as often making her laugh so much she spilled her tea through her nose. 

All in all, Camellia was not ready to leave her little protected fantasy. She did not want to go home where she knew that her anger with Harry, and Harry's anger with her, would be noticeable to their parents. The two twins had been successful in fooling their parents whenever they saw them, but the truth was Camellia resented her brother for acting differently because she was in Slytherin. 

"Cami! Cami!" Theo Nott's voice was heard in Pansy and Camellia's dorm. "Wake up, you lazy arse!" 

The nickname Blaise had chosen for her had stuck, which is why everyone in Slytherin referred to her as Cami Potter. 

"Shove off," Camellia groaned from under her sheets, burying herself deeper in her bed the morning she was supposed to go home. 

"Won't you look at that!" Blaise, who had probably entered with Theo, laughed. "Little Cami didn't want to be here on her first day, and now she doesn't want to go home." 

"Well, if my brother wasn't such a hypocrite arse I would have something to look forward to all summer," Camellia muttered, taking the duvet off her face and sitting up. 

"Potter and his little friends don't ever get tired, do they?" Blaise snorted, taking a seat next to Camellia. "But really, Cami, get out of bed before Snape comes barging in here." 

Camellia let out a sigh, standing from her bed and pointing her wand at her trunk, getting out her clothes, and hurrying off to the bathroom. 

"How do I look?" she asked, coming out of the bathroom with a red shirt, blue trousers, and combat boots. 

"Like a Gryffindor," Pansy, who had entered the room, gagged. "Honestly, Cami, you can't hide it from them forever." 

"Well, my mum and dad left it pretty clear that neither Ivy nor Daniel know that I was sorted into Slytherin," Camellia said, shutting her trunk. 

"They'll have to know eventually, Daniel's coming to Hogwarts next year," Theo said as the four exited the dorm. "What house do they think you are in, anyhow?" 

"Mum and Dad told them it wasn't important," Camellia shrugged. "They forbade anyone from telling them, but it won't be long until Ivy comes snooping around and finds out." 

"I wish your parents would let you come to the Malfoy's this summer," Pansy said sadly as they got to the common room. "We'll all be there before Hogwarts starts again." 

"I'll try again as soon as we get back," Camellia promised. "No promised, tho, Pans." 

Pansy made an annoyed face, rolling her eyes but slipping her dainty hand into Cami's. 

"You four ready to go?" Mattheo Riddle, one of Camellia's closest friends, asked from his seat beside Draco Malfoy in front of the fireplace. He had ignored her at first, after finding out she was a Potter, but he had slowly gotten closer to her. 

"Should we go to the kitchens before we go?" Camellia asked after nodding her head at Mattheo. "I'm starving and Neville said the House Elves have got so many leftovers from last night." 

"Given the fact that you slept all through breakfast I'm not surprised you're hungry," Draco snorted as the group made their way outside the common room. 

They walked quickly towards the kitchens, Camellia reaching up and tickling the pear, giggling as she did so. Entering the kitchen, as the group of Slytherins had done so many other times, they took a seat at a table that was beside the large kitchen. They allowed the house elves to assist them, some of them being more used to the creatures than others. 

"I can't believe your parents gave away your house-elf," Draco said, chewing on his toast. 

"My dad wasn't keen on the idea," Camellia shrugged. "But my mum and my uncle Sirius hated having a house-elf tied to them, so dad complied."  

"Mother always said that Sirius Black was different from his family," Theo said, sipping on his hot chocolate. "She used to see him a lot in the Pureblood parties, she said he was always in some kind of trouble." 

"That sounds about right," Camellia snorted, but she felt a pang of hurt as Theo mentioned his mother. "How is your mum, Theo? Any news?" 

Theo stiffened a little, but nodded his head nevertheless, "She's getting better, or at least that is what father said in his last letter. I'll find out when I get home, I reckon." 

Camellia half smiled and intertwined her hand with Theo's. "You'll write to me, yes? Whatever it is you find out, you'll write to me?" 

"I promise," Theo smiled warmly and gave her hand a small squeeze before he let go. 

Soon, the small group was back on the train, just as they had been on their first day of Hogwarts almost a year ago. 

Blaise, Theo, and Camellia shared a side whilst Mattheo, Draco, and Pansy shared the other; all of them rejoicing on their favourite memories over the past year. 

"I think my favourite memory, this one is going to beat all of yours," Draco began, interrupting Pansy as she spoke of her favourite memory. "Is when Cami slapped the Weasel for trying to cheat off her notes." 

"In my defense," Camellia said in between laughs. "He had been rude to Theo and me for the whole week before I slapped him; he was testing the last of my nerves!" 

"And what was your excuse for jinxing him on the quidditch match?" Blaise asked, his smile showing nothing but mischief. 

"He said Harry was better at Quidditch than me," Camellia shrugged as if that was the only reasonable answer to the question. She looked out the window carefully, a frown settling on her face as she noticed they were rolling into London. "We're here."

"Thank Hecate," Pansy sighed, looking at Camellia. "No offense, Cami, but all the red in your clothes was giving me a headache." 

"Funny, Pans," Cami chuckled as she retrieved her trunk from above her seat. "Well, guess it's back to my loving Gryffindor-obsessed family." 

"You'll be fine, Cami," Draco sighed, also retrieving his trunk from the rails. "Promise."