𝕄𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝔻𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕

Alecto bloody Carrow was to be her sister-in-law. Sekhmet wasn’t sure if her father was as nutty as a fruitcake or if Osiris had done something truly dreadful to upset him. Either way, this engagement was not going to last. Despite having moved to Europe, Set— Sekhmet’s father— had refused to accept all of the cultural differences between England and Egypt. He expected any woman of high enough standing to marry one of his sons to be proper.

Alecto Carrow had many rumors surrounding her, especially after the infamous incident of her having been caught in a broom closet with Emmaline Vance in her seventh year. Sekhmet personally did not care whether or not Alecto liked girls. She did not believe that a woman’s value came from whether or not their preferences benefited that of a man. But alas, this was not Sekhmet’s biggest concern. Her biggest concern was the fact that she had Potions as her first class. After getting her schedule for her sixth year this morning from Professor Slughorn, Sekhmet was walking from the Great Hall to her first class of the year.

Sekhmet was good at Potions and had a special talent for healing brews, but she was most definitely not a morning person. The only upside to her having Potions first was that she had the class at the same time as Regulus, which was a small comfort to her. Regulus and her walked to almost every class together, which is exactly what they were doing now.

“What class do you have after this?” Regulus asked inquisitively while peering down at his timetable. Sekhmet stole a glance down at her paper as well, taking the time to study it.

“After Potions I have Ancient Runes, Charms, and Care of Magical Creatures. Tomorrow I have Transfiguration first, then Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, and later at night Astronomy,” Sekhmet answered while reading her timetable.

“Then it seems that we have everything but Herbology and Ancient Runes together” Regulus commented with an air of pleasure and satisfaction. His demeanor was that of a cat who had gotten the cream. Sekhmet looked up at him with the beginnings of a grin.

“We have Care of Magical Creatures together!” Sekhmet exclaimed full of hope and anticipation, turning to face Regulus fully. Regulus and her had been waiting to see if they were going to be in Care of Magical Creatures together. They both loved the class and thoroughly enjoyed the material, but they had been hoping against hope that they would have the class together this year. They had practically prayed every day over the summer that they would have the class together, and it seemed as though their prayers had been answered. Their love for the class was something that they both wished to share; the thought of having it separately was a source of constant concern.

Sekhmet and Regulus both trudged their way to Slughorn’s class, seeing it coming up. As they made their way up to the doorway it seemed as though they were the first ones to arrive. Regulus and Sekhmet glanced at one another before Slughorn made his way toward them from the back of the class, presumably setting up for the lesson.

“Ah! Mr. Black my boy! And Ms. Arafa, my dear! It’s wonderful to see you both this year. Take a seat anywhere you’d like, we’ll get started once the other student make their way here and I find where I put that pesky wormwood…” Slughorn trailed off, meandering back over to his desk and starting to rummage through everything while scratching his chin.

Sekhmet and Regulus made their way over to a table that was in the very back of the classroom closest to the door. Regulus set his bag down, his movements holding the grace befitting that of a cat. Sekhmet too set her bag down, her movements deft and methodical, her elegance the same as that which befit her namesake. Her movements were always sure, holding an air of finality to them that made everything she did seem almost lethal in a way. Regulus was similar, but not quite comparable. The Blacks were raised to take every action with the confidence of a king, and that is just what Regulus did. While his intimidation came from the power that others allowed him to have over them, Sekhmet’s came from herself. Being born told that she was descended from gods who had shaped the world, built empires, and toppled them just the same, made her more self-assured. Her being the first girl in the Arafa family in over 500 years also added to her strength. Although not ever spoken aloud she knew that Arafa women held more power than their male counterparts— could change the course of history with a simple decision.

As time progressed more students began to trickle in. It seemed that their Potions class would have students from every house attending, which was unusual. Typically they would only share a class with one other house, but it seemed Dumbledore may be trying to create more “inter-house unity in these trying times” as he had so eloquently declared in his speech. Sooner rather than later, the whole class was full and it looked as though Slughorn had finally found what he was searching for.

“Hello class, I hope you all had a satisfactory break.” Slughorn bellowed with a smile, then continued in his rant. “Today we will be learning how to brew a healing potion. I know what you all must be thinking, but yes we are doing this on the first day!”

Students could be heard grumbling and groaning, having expected their first class to be a simple introduction rather than a full-blown lesson.

“You will be working with those at your table for the rest of the year. You may begin!” Slughorn said with joy, despite the lack of excitement from his students.

“I can grab the ingredients if you would prefer?” Regulus offered while shuffling to stand from his seat. He turned his head toward Sekhmet with an open expression.

“That would be nice, yes” Sekhmet replied with a grateful smile. She had always enjoyed Potions, and Regulus knew that she had a special relationship with making healing brews.

They both moved to get started after Regulus had come back from the ingredients cupboard, his hands full of everything they needed. Sekhmet meticulously added each ingredient, barely glancing at the instructions in their book. She had done this millions of times, making it practically second nature. She was forced to learn how to brew a proper healing potion when she turned 13 when her father was outraged that she was caught alone in a room with a boy.

Sekhmet wasn’t aware that her body changing and growing, made it improper of her to spend time with the opposite gender— even if their actions were harmless and innocent. Her father had left her with a reminder that she would never forget, leaving her bruised for weeks on end. Her arms were covered in a plethora of cuts, drawing the attention of her brother, Anubis. Anubis had given her a healing draught, as well as a paste. After she had properly recovered he had given her lessons on how to brew each of them over countless nights when their father had business with work. They had not talked about it since, but Anubis did leave her with the advice that should she ever need it, he always had some emergency potions stored in the left corner of his closet.

Sekhmet watched as the potion began to bubble turning a light green like shown in the textbook. Regulus examined the potion as well, peering over her shoulder. He gave a satisfied hum and was starting to open his mouth to talk when Professor Slughorn came over.

“Coming along splendidly you two! Ten points to Slytherin!” Slughorn announced a large smile on his face. He continued walking around to examine the other students, reminding them that class was over in 15 minutes. This left both Regulus and Sekhmet with a decent chunk of time in which they had nothing to do.

“When do you have your next class?” Regulus asked Sekhmet, sitting down and tilting his head toward her to listen to her answer.

“I have about an hour until Ancient Runes. Why?” Sekhmet spoke, continuing to put her textbook away in her charmed messenger bag. The bag had an undetectable extension charm on it, which was illegal in Britain, but not in Egypt where she had gotten it.

“How would you feel about going to the library in the meantime? There are a few books that I have been wanting that I thought might be in the library” Regulus commented with a cool air. The Black ancestral home was an extensive place with a large library filled with several ancient texts, many of them containing dark magic. Regulus had sent her several letters about the books he had been reading over the summer, and she sent many of her own. Sekhmet figured that he must have been intrigued by a book that he couldn’t find in his library. She nodded.

“Of course, we can go. I have been wanting to do some research of my own,” Sekhmet told him in a reassuring tone. Just then Slughorn sat up, looking at his watch.

“Class is dismissed! I wish you all a lovely rest of the school year! If you did not complete your potion please come back during a free period and finish it!” Slughorn announced to the class, though many were already halfway out the door whenever he had made his last comment.

Regulus and Sekhmet both got out of their seats with a grace that could only be seen in those raised with the high expectations of their parents weighing down on them. Regulus was the perfect example of a pureblood son; Sekhmet was the embodiment of what a lady from a notable and wealthy pureblood dynasty should look like.