The start of nothing...
All morning my head is racked with my nightmares. When I walk past people in the halls I have to double-check to make sure that their faces are there and are not blurred like the figure of my nightmare which still made the hairs on the back of my neck stand. All throughout breakfast I barely spoke and just pushed food around my plate, not caring about the subtle grumbling of my stomach. No one seemed to notice my tense behaviour and I am glad. Everything around me feels odd. It was a feeling that made me feel that thousands of eyes were watching me, calculating my every breath. And it scared me. A muted snap sounded from beside me and I turned to see Draco who was snapping his fingers in my face trying to get my attention.
“Hello! Aurora! We have Potions, we have to go!” His mocking voice did nothing to soothe my worries. With a little force, I pushed his hands out of my face.
“Yes! I heard you! Let's go.” And with that Draco, Theo, Pansy, Riddle, and I all make our way to potions. Once we arrive I take a seat next to Theo and silently scan the room for any familiar faces, only to meet eyes with Harry. I send him a smile and he sends me one back. Next to him, I see a boy with red hair who could only be Ron Weasley, who is trying to see how many potion vials he can mix the labels of. Next to him is a girl with large brown curls who is taking the vials out of Ron’s hand with a scowl on her face.
“Are you excited for partners, Argent ?” I turn to Theo and am met with the sight of his smug face.
“Oh, I'm ecstatic, Teddy.” Sarcasm laced her every word. Theo let out a booming laugh and leaned off the desk to catch his breath in a sarcastic manner.
Theo wiped the corners of his eyes struggling not to laugh, “Ooo, so I’m Teddy now?” I playfully hit his arm and we both giggle a little. Suddenly our giggles are cut off as the professor storms through the doors with his raven hair and dark robes swishing behind him with snarp malicious. The room goes silent as our gazes follow him. The mysterious professor makes his way to the front of the room and swiftly turns to the class, his eyes calculating.
“Take your seats.” His voice is odd. Deep and sharp. I watch as all the remaining students quickly take their seats and when I look back at the professor our eyes lock.
“Ah, Miss Black.” His voice was so sharp it could cut through the thick tension of the room, “What an unusual surprise to see you at Hogwarts. Was Beauxbatons not up to your expectations?” The class was silent as everyone watched their conversation.
I keep my voice steady and strong “On the contrary, Professor…”
“Snape.”
“Snape.” My voice is light and elegant just as I've always been taught, “Beauxbatons was an exemplary education but unfortunately for them, Hogwarts exceeded my expectations.” I held his gaze for a few moments before I heard him hum and then whip around to the chalkboard. Professor Snape started to scrawl names over the board when someone tapped me on the shoulder.
“Well done, Argent .” Theo's smile was wide and I let a small smile escape my lips as I looked around the room to still see eyes on me. I quickly averted my eyes back to the board to see my name written beside another. Hermione.
“Get into your partners. They will be unchangeable and I will have no exceptions.” Everyone started to hurriedly move to find their partners. I picked up my books and stood to find Hermione Granger standing in front of me. Her brown eyes were full of warmth and her brown curls hung around her face like a hug.
“Shall we sit here?” Her voice was sweet and powerful like a lemon drop. I nod and drop back down into my seat as she sits in Theo's now vacant seat.
“I’m Hermione Granger” She holds her hand out in front of her with a smile. And I take her hand with a smile.
“I’m Aurora Black.” I let go of her hand and pulled them into my lap.
“Trust me I know,” She says with a laugh and starts to pull out notes.
“Oh?”
“Everyone in school knows who you are.” I pull in a quick breath and to calm myself I look around the room. I see Harry and Theo are partnered (refusing to talk to each other), Pansy is sitting with a Ravenclaw girl (and is completely ignoring her poor partner), and finally, Draco and Riddle are partnered talking quietly to each other. As I scanned the rest of the room my eyes caught with someone else. He is handsome, with soft brown hair, crystal blue eyes, and a large smile gracing his face. I held his stare for a minute before I turned next to him to see Ron next to him folding his paper into an obscure shape. I turn back to Hermione to see a worried look on her face as she glances at me.
“I didn’t mean to upset you-”
“Hermione, You didn't upset me.” Her gaze is wary but I give her a reassuring smile.
“Ah well good!” A sharp clap booms through the room.
“We will be producing Draught of Peace today. Can anyone tell me what this potion achieves?” A hand beside me flew up along with a few others around the room. I bend down to take my notebook out of my back when my name is called.
“Miss Black.” I grab my notebook and sit back up in my seat.
“The purpose of Draught of Peace is to relieve stress and agitation.” I would know because I’ve had to take a few. A few hums filter around the class but with a clap they are silenced.
“And the ingredients of this Draught?” Professor Snape's eyes are narrowed as he surveys me.
“Powdered moonstone, syrup of hellebore, powdered porcupine quills, and powdered unicorn horn.” I look around to see the whole class's eyes on me.
“And what color should the Draught be upon completion?” I snap my eyes back to Snape.
“Turquoise blue” Everyone stares at me with wide eyes and I look beside me to see Hermione with a wide smile gracing her face.
“Perhaps we could study together?” Hermione says w
“I would love that,” Hermione says as she begins to tie up her mass of defined brown locks.
“Enough. Start brewing.” The talking stopped and with a final swish of Snape's robes, he swung back to the board. Hermione and I started to pull the necessary ingredients from the shelves at set them in order of addition.
“I-um heard about what happened with Umbridge. Are you ok?” She starts to brew the cauldron.
“Oh, I’m fine. Did Harry tell you?”
“He did. I’m glad to know that you are okay, Harry didn’t really want to go into detail.” I could feel her eyes watching me carefully.
I continue to drop teaspoons of powered moonstone into the potion until I see it turn green. “It was truly nothing,” I say with a small shrug and start to stir the potion.
“Mmm”
“What?”
“Oh, nothing” She kept a small smile on her face as she added syrup of hellebore, “It’s just that you and Harry are very similar.”
“Oh, Really?” My voice is full of surprises. She nodded her head enthusiastically in response. We continue to perfect the potion until completion and unsurprisingly to everyone else we finish first. With an annoyed look, Professor Snape strides over to our way dramatically and peers into our cauldron.
Snape looked like he had just been told to lick the floor, “It’s… perfect” He managed to mumble out with disgust before he took off. Hermione and I both turned to each other at the same time and bend over simultaneously with quiet laughs trying not to be yelled at. When I stand back up I see the boy who is sitting next to Ron staring at me with fascination. When he sees that I saw him looking, his gaze doesn't waver, only a smile appears on his face and I quickly rip my head back to Hermione.
“Well, we make a good team.” Hermione lets out a little giggle, “We sure do”. Everyone else finishes and class ends. With a goodbye to Hermione and a smile towards The Slytherins and Harry. I make my way into the divination classroom. The room has an otherworldly ambiance, with dark, heavy curtains blocking out most of the natural light, and a thick scent of burning incense. silk scarfs, crystal balls, and other mystic symbols that adorn the tables. Professor Trelawney, draped in layers of flowing fabric, is sitting at the front of the classroom, gazing into the misty depths of her crystal ball.
Noticing I don’t see any familiar faces I make my way to the back of the classroom and find a seat. Just as I’m getting out my books and quill from my bag Professor Trelawney begins to speak, her voice dreamy and distant.
“Welcome, dear students, to another term of Divination,” she says, her eyes gazing into the distance “This term, we will dive into the topic of seers.” She continues “A Seer, is a gifted wizard or witch who has the ability to see into the future or past with their Inner Eye. They possess a very rare and unique talent."
The concept of Seers intrigues me. However, the rest of the lesson is less captivating. We spend our time learning about crystal balls, and how to gaze into them. My mind begins to wander while we watch the cloudy swirls of the crystal ball. Time seems to pass slowly, but eventually, the bell rings, signaling the end of the class. I gather my things and head out.
I start to make my way down the corridor to the great hall for lunch and I pass the Hufflepuff boy from my potions class sitting with his friends. He meets my eyes and to my surprise, he stands up and begins walking next to me.
“Hey you’re in my potions class, Aurora Black, right?” He asks, looking down at me with his bright blue eyes and flashing a charming smile. “I’m Ben.”
I tilt my head to the side and smirk. “Wow, good memory.”
Ben's grin grows even wider. “It's hard to forget the name of a pretty girl like you.”
I chuckle and slightly shake my head. As we continue walking he reaches into his pockets and pulls out a chocolate frog. “Hungry?” He questions handing it to me. “Yeah, I am actually, thanks.” I take the chocolate frog from his hand and open the card, revealing the image of Cassandra Vablatsky.
We enter the great hall and just as I'm turning toward the Slytherin table I feel Ben's hand lightly grab my arm. “Also, if you need help with potions I've got some notes you could borrow.”
“Really? That’d be great.” I reply, gratefully.
He leans in closer with a smirk on his face. “Oh yeah? How great.”
I slightly narrow my eyes, but can’t stop myself from grinning. “Meet me in the library at 7 and you’ll see,” I say, beginning to walk away.
“I’ll be waiting.” He calls out from behind me.
I make my way over to the Slytherin table and Daphne immediately grabs my hands, her eyes lit up from excitement “Did I just see you talking to Ben Renshaw!?” she asks avidly.
Draco, from beside me, raises an eyebrow. "Yeah, what was that all about?” He asks suspiciously.
I sigh, trying to brush off their interest. "Oh, it's nothing. He just offered to let me borrow his Potions notes."
Daphne smirks playfully. "Oh, 'borrow his notes,' huh?"
Before I can respond, I overhear Mattheo muttering under his breath, "Pathetic."
I shoot him a withering look. "You got something to add, Riddle?"
He leans back in his seat and pokes his tongue to his cheek. “Oh, no, It's the perfect match, really. He’s got the personality of a cardboard box and you seem… well easy.”
I chuckle at his audacity as my temper flares. “Easy?-” My words are cut off,
“Come on mate.” Draco let out a huff as he looked at Mattheo giving him a look.
“I’m just stating the obvious.” He shrugs, finding this almost amusing.
“Wow, you’re quite the judge of character aren’t you?” I reply with a sardonic smile playing on my lips.
Mattheo’s lips turn into a challenging smirk “Touche, Black.”
I lean in closer, narrowing my eyes at him “Your father would be so proud.” The words hang in the air for a moment, my eyes never leave Mattheo’s now blank face.
“Can guys just shut up and eat your lunch,” Pansy says harshly, her voice dripping with annoyance.
“I’ve lost my appetite,” I mutter as I push away from the table. I make my way to the library, the room is dimly lit with the scent of old books and the soft rustling of pages. I take a look around and meet the eyes of Ben who is casually slouched down in his chair, a knowing grin gracing his face as he watches me approach.
“Right on time.” He quips as I draw closer.
“Well, I wouldn’t want to keep you waiting,” I reply with a coy smile as I slide into the seat opposite him. “Here” He pushes a stack of parchment towards me, his gaze never wavering.
“Thanks so much, I owe you one” I express my gratitude, briefly flicking through the neatly organised notes.
Ben leans in closer, his tone flirtatious. “You could always repay me by letting me take you out sometime.”
My laughter is cut short as a familiar voice interrupts from behind me. “Ah, Argent.” Ben rolls his eyes and slumps back into his chair, I turn my head to see Theo striding towards us, but my smile immediately drops when I notice Riddle is trailing behind him.
“I see you’ve found some company,” Theo remarks, his gaze now squarely on Ben. “Don’t get too comfortable, Benny boy. You need all the practice you can get for next week's game. Don’t want you falling off your broom again now, do we?”
Ben's chuckle in response is sharper, his tone sardonic. “Give it a rest, mate. At least I can make it to a date.” He mutters the last sentence under his breath, but it doesn't go past Theo.
“Ouch, that hurt,” Theo smirks as he puts his hand on his chest dramatically. “Hurt almost as much as the secondhand embarrassment I got from seeing you eat shit.”
I try to hold back a laugh from the stupidity of the conversation. But before things escalate further, the librarian approaches us, her patience clearly running thin. "Shush. You boys keep it down" she says sternly.
“Yeah, come on.” My eyes meet Mattheo’s which are already glaring back at me. “Let’s leave the lovebirds alone.” He snarls as he turns around, pushing Theo with him. The boys whispers trail behind them as they make their way into the library's shelves. As they walk away my eyes fixate on Mattheo. He’s a bitch, that's for sure. It's hard to imagine someone like Mattheo ever truly being happy.
“So…” Ben injects, snapping me back to reality. “About that date.”
I blink, still lost in my thoughts “Oh, yes, I would love to.” I finally responded with a smile.
After we chatted for a while, making plans, I began to stroll around the corridors as I had some time before dinner. As I wander the ancient hallways, I can't help but be captivated by the school's breathtaking beauty. The honeyed light of the late afternoon sun reflects off the enchanted windows, casting shadows upon the massive castle walls which hold centuries of history within them.
My steps take me through well-tended courtyards and beautiful gardens. The air carries the sweet scents of blooming flowers, grass, and damp earth.
Eventually, I found myself by the black lake. I sit under a towering tree, its branches casting gentle dappled shadows across my lap. I cast my gaze towards the vast body of water which sparkles with the fading daylight. I remember Cissa telling me about this place, how you could always find my Mother here. Mum would frequently drag Narcissa out of their dormitories after curfew, guiding them to this very spot. Cissa recalled how she used to think the black lake was nothing more than a dark and somewhat boring body of water. But Jane, she said, always used to insist “It's not what you see at first glance. Just look at the way the moonlight dances on the water, the lake comes alive at night.”
The stories Cissa tells me about my Mother create a mosaic of her in my mind. She always saw the little details that most people overlooked. She was independent, a free-spirit, never caring what people thought of her. But most of all, she was fiercely loyal, she would do anything for the people she cared about.
I close my eyes for a moment and lean my head back, allowing the breeze to brush through my hair, much like it would have for my mother, years ago, in this exact spot. For a fleeting moment, I feel a connection with her, a piece of her legacy imprinted in the air around me. It's a bittersweet feeling, knowing that I'll never have the chance to get to know her.