The Heirs of The Noble House of Black

Chapter 3

Their unspoken battle went on all week, and although the tension between the pair went mostly unnoticed, Tom and Lyra had both quickly established themselves as the smartest and most capable within their year. Slughorn seemed especially pleased by this and could frequently be heard bragging to the other heads of houses about how well his Slytherin first years were doing and how Slytherin was sure to win the house cup this year (often followed by some very prominent eye rolls from Professor McGonagall).

"Ah, there they are, my two prodigy potioneers!" Slughorn boomed as Lyra and Tom entered his classroom along with the rest of the Slytherins. Throughout the week, Eva had insisted on spending as much time as possible with her twin and his new friends, although it quickly became apparent that this had less to do with family ties and more to do with her finding Evan's roommates attractive and fun to flirt with. Bellatrix, who was also keen on spending as many of her waking moments as she could around Tom was also keen on sitting with the boys in classes, studying with them in the library and spending evenings with them in the common room; playing wizards chess and chatting until the early hours of the morning. Unfortunately for Lyra, this also meant that she spent most of her time with the group. She had been wary of Evan's new friends at first, worried that they would reveal themselves to be of a similar nature to Tom, but aside from making the occasional macabre joke, the others all seemed to have a quiet gentleness hidden beneath the exterior of their dark glamour. She had grown up with Evan and loved him dearly, and Lucius she had met a few summers ago and liked well enough. But she was pleased to discover that she enjoyed the company of both Rodolphus Lestrange and Lance Avery also. They were the 2 jokesters of the group, constantly playing off each other's humour. So when Lyra set out to put as much distance between herself and Tom as possible at the potions table, it was next to Lance that she sat.

"Ok first years, settle down, settle down," Slughorn hushed the class into silence as the last student took their seat, "last lesson we had a basic introduction to potions, finding our way around all the equipment and tools a true potioneer would use, but today we're going to have a look at some of the ingredients you'll be using and breaking down their role in different potions. I know you're all itching to get brewing already, and you soon will be, but understanding why each ingredient goes in each potion will stand you in good stead for the rest of your potion making careers. Now..." Slughorn drifted into a speech about the many different ingredients they would be using, which although fascinating, began to bore even Lyra around the 30-minute mark. Her note taking slowed, and she found her eyes drifting to her fellow classmates. Evan was doodling in his notebook whilst Eva had twisted slightly in the seat beside him, flicking her hair and trying to catch the attention of one of the Ravenclaw boys behind her. Lance and Rodolphus were miming lude gestures to each other, Lucius appeared to be checking his reflection in the shine of his solid gold cauldron and Bellatrix was asleep sat upright. The only one who still seemed to be paying any attention was Tom, who had pages upon pages of beautifully written notes.

She tried to tune back into what Slughorn was saying (she'd be damned if she left this lesson with Tom knowing more than her), but the many uses of flobberworm mucus weren't particularly enticing, and after a few minutes she found her focus drifting once more. She was just thinking that Bellatrix had the right idea by taking a nap when she felt a sharp prod to her thigh. She turned to her left, where Lance Avery smiled back at her, trying to get her attention. He slid her a piece of paper across the desk. Her eyebrow twitched upwards, she was supposed to be concentrating on the lesson, but instead her curiosity won over. She reached out and took the paper, unfolding it gently. And inside was... a game of noughts and crosses?

She smiled to herself, resisting the urge to shake her head. She was supposed to be focusing on Slughorn, but good god she did not want to hear another word about how it was best to collect the flobberworm mucus on a waning crescent moon by squeezing its... no, absolutely not. She put a nought in the box and passed the paper back to him. He grinned at her, green eyes and honey blonde hair somehow still sparkling in the low light of the dungeon. He surveyed the paper, thought for only a moment before making a cross with the flourish of his quill. They went back and forth a few more times before Lyra returned the note to him, triumphant. Wherever he went, it would leave a space for her to win. She glanced towards Slughorn who was now writing combinations of ingredients on the blackboard, but when Avery returned the paper to her, her focus returned to the blonde-haired boy beside her once more. She glanced down at the paper he had given her once more and was shocked to see 3 crosses in a row, a line drawn neatly through them. He had beaten her. But how, she was so sure she'd won?