Forgotten

3 | Potions

"Bella!" The voice of her brother echoed across the corridors walls, forcing her to look away from the book she had been reading, a story of a boy and a girl, who took a journey through hatred into love. The kind of love a girl like Arabella craves.

"Evan, what on earth are you doing walking around so early?" Evan was the opposite of a morning person. He would awaken late and arrive to class, just as the deafening bell would ring, with an appearance so dishevelled it would frighten Salazar Slytherin. 

"Barty was... well he was being Barty and I just couldn't bring myself to stay in that room any longer. It wasn't like I could have gone back to sleep with all the obnoxious noise he makes anyway." It was true. Barty was a unique individual. His mood could switch from laughter and jokes to firing curses at you, at a deadly speed. 

"Well at least you can be on time to potions for once. Come on we should get going to the great hall if you want to eat anything at all today." With that they set off walking down the paths of Hogwarts, the place that had quickly become more of a home for Bella than Rosier Manor had ever been. 

The great hall was busy with students of all ages rushing to eat before they would be forced out the doors towards there first class of the day. 

She sat her self down next to Regulus, he was almost always sat alone. Too worried about other people's opinions to let himself speak with them. Evan sat on the bench opposite them piling his plate with beans eggs and toast. 

"So Regulus what classes have you got today?" Bella asked, trying to break the silence between the group. She had always been the one to speak from the moment she could talk. Whenever her mother made a mistake it would be her job to fix it.

"Herbology." It was cold and rainy today, which explained why Regulus was in a foul mood. "What about you two?" She knew it was just him being polite but she appreciated it non the less.

"We've got potions, and I have to sit with Barty! He is useless!" She said throwing her hands up in exasperation.

"Well that I understand. I truly do not understand why we continue to hang out with him." They didn't mind him really. He could just get on everybody's nerves sometimes.

"Because if we didn't, who would?" Evan said, causing the group to burst into laughter, the sound catching the attention of a band of boys on the Gryffindor table. The marauders. Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin and James Potter. Bella hadn't spoken to him since there... interaction on the quidditch pitch a week ago and she was hoping she wouldn't have to. But she knew that would be too good to be true. 

Of course he had attempted to speak with her. But each time she would ignore the gestures he made or the words that came out of his mouth. However, she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep up disregarding his persistence.

Just as she thought one of them would do something the bell rang, signalling the students to head off to there lesson. Regulus spilt apart from the group walking with a boy whom Bella did not know the name of.

The class were all huddled in the dungeon corridor waiting to be allowed into the classroom however when the door did in fact open, they were greeted by a smiling Professor Slughorn. Which was not quite an uncommon event, it was just he was smiling a little too much, the creases around his eyes fake and the of his lips fabricated. As if he knew he had done something he shouldn't have.

"Good morning class, we have had a change in seating arrangements. I have decided it would be best if we merged the houses together for class. You can all get to know each other. If there is any issues do not tell me because this is a permanent change." His voice shook as he said his final sentence knowing more than half of his students would not appreciate being forced to sit with somebody from another house. Almost all of this class were Slytherins and Gryffindors.