The Slytherin Queen

A little birdy told me

After quickly leaving Professor McGonagall's class feeling thoroughly embarrassed, Victoria kept bringing it up and reminding me not to touch any more random animals, to which I made no promises.

We walked into the Potions classroom, and immediately I felt like I had stepped into a scene from a scary film. There were body parts in jars, dead creatures on shelves, and hardly any light to see our books. It was an accident waiting to happen. On top of that, this seemed like the place where bats lived, and I hate bats.

Selena dragged us toward the back of the class, and I kept an eye on the ceiling for a bat. A cold shiver went down my spine as I felt eyes on me. My eyes flitted across the room to see Lestrange staring at me. I flicked my hair around my exposed neck and turned away from him. Selena had warned me about him.

The door to the classroom swung open, hitting the wall with a bang, and Professor Snape crept in, his robe billowing behind him. "He's using a charm to make his robes float ominously behind him," I whispered to Victoria, who sniggered.

He turned toward our desk. "Is something funny, Miss Skeeter?" He drawled, raising a brow.

"Yes," She simply answered. He waited for the rest of her statement, but it never came, so he continued with the lesson. Throughout the class, Snape picked on Harry and a kid named Neville. That's not what made me frustrated, though. It was the little paper ball that would hit my head every time Harry missed a question or Neville made a mess.

Neville, a first-year Gryffindor, spilled his potion, and I knew it was coming, so I turned and caught the paper before it could hit my head. I glared at the culprit. Lestrange was leaning back in his chair, a lazy smirk on his face, and crumbled up papers beside him. Snape didn't try to stop him, and I noticed he seemed to withhold a little smirk every time a paper hit me. Theodore Nott, Lestrange's lab partner, was too busy doing both of their work to even notice his partner's annoying habits.

Selena elbowed me in the ribs, bringing me back to the table. She had a slight grin on her face as she followed the instructions, stirring the cauldron. It wasn't really a surprise that she enjoyed potions. Selena always had an obsession with wanting to become a medi-witch.

"Stop being useless and go get the snake fangs and dried nettles," Selena prompted. Victoria mocked her behind her back, making obscure faces. I stood up and walked to the potions cabinet, stifling a laugh. I reached for the bag of snake fangs on the top shelf, but a hand reached over me and grabbed it before me. I whirled around to see Lestrange staring at me, holding the pouch.

"Hey, I was reaching for it first. Give it back," I demanded, holding out my hand.

"Sorry, no can do, bunny. Maybe you should hop a little higher next time," he whispered before strutting off with my pouch. I swore under my breath and turned away from him seething at the nickname. Who did he think he was?

Cooling my harsh expression, I turned to the dark-skinned boy beside me, who was abnormally tall, and asked if he could reach the Snake Fangs. With no effort, he plucked them from the top shelf and handed them to me, and without another word, he turned and walked back to the Gryffindor side of the room. I grabbed the dried nettles and hurried back to Victoria and Selena.

"Potter, you are stirring the potion the wrong way," Snape said, popping up beside me. Surprised that he appeared out of nowhere, I flung the whisk, and our potion spilled on his robes. His face turned a violent shade of red, and I took a step back, his anger reminding me of Vernon's.

"At least you won't have boils anymore."

"You are just as stupid and incompetent as your father," Snape hissed. I grit my teeth, knowing I'd probably regret what flew out of my mouth next.