Twists of Fate: Entangled Threads || Sirius Black FF

Chapter 5: The Half-Blood Prince

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Charm class went well. At least, Sandy thought so. She had managed to sit alone, and perform her charms to perfection. It was, after all, her favourite class. Because it was the first day, Professor Flitwick had began with revisions, particularly for the Levitation Charm, and the Mending Charm. Due to having finished to quickly, he also had her revise the Fire-Making Spell, another that went great. Unfortunately, with her skill on this particular class, came attention. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, as she performed a charm or two. It probably didn't help that this was her very first class of the year as the 'new girl'. Sandy hoped this attention would settle down soon, once people realized she didn't want to talk to others. Or, rather, pretend to. 

Sandy considered herself to be a very social person. If it was up to her, she would always be conversing with others (when not doing homework or reading). However, now that she was in a situation were her presence alone, in this time line, could cause a butterfly effect of catastrophes, she had to resort to a lot of restraint. So, that meant appearing anti-social. 

Once that class ended, Sandy had herbology next, with a much younger Professor Sprout in charge of their education. No grey hairs could be spotted, although, she remained a squat little witch. Additionally, she was covered in dirt from head to toe still. Most importantly though, her bright smile remained, along with her cheerful attitude. Here, they revised their Mandrake knowledge, with earmuffs in place. 

It had been a while she Sandy had participated in herbology, hands on, due to being on the run for a year. Consequently, it was safe to say the class wasn't as smooth as the former. She got bitten on her fingers by a baby-mandrake four times during the class' duration, and also dropped it on the ground at one point. Despite her frustration, Professor Sprout cheered her up, reminding her that it was just the first class after their 'summer break', and that she should take it easy. 

Next, was potions class, with Professor Slughorn. That was yet another familiar face. Granted, she only had him as her professor on her fourth year. Still, he was still her favourite potions professor, but, anyone could top Professor Snape. Not out of skill, but demeanour. 

Her thoughts on Slughorn had been quite unusual. The first time they met, although she was grateful for no longer having Professor Snape for potions, she still thought he was... Well, quite vain, bumbling, sometimes rude (to those 'unworthy of his club and attention'), as well as oddly jovial. Somewhat cowardly too. Having heard from Harry that Professor Slughorn had been hiding from Voldemort, and was supposedly keeping important information about him, made her cautious. However, Sandy eventually found out the truth. He had been tricked by younger Voldemort (or 'Tom Riddle') to disclose information on the horcruxes. 

While this should have made her angry at the man, she began to realize Professor Slughorn was much more than he seemed. Sure, he had hid from Voldemort. Yes, he appeared to be a coward. But then, Sandy realized something. Despite Voldemort's desire for him to join them, Slughorn refused. He decided to hide, instead of cave out of fear. That required courage. All because he stood up for his beliefs of not being prejudiced towards Muggle-borns and Muggles. This was, in fact, quite rare to find in a Slytherin. Furthermore, not only could he summon a Patronus (exposing his skill and strong ability to love), but he fought against Voldemort and the Death Eaters in the Battle of Hogwarts. And so, Sandy decided that Slughorn, although he had some bad traits and had made mistakes, was still a good person deserving of her respect.